In the first half of 2021, the municipal government of Huizhou has thoroughly implemented the work plans issued by the central and provincial governments, coordinated the prevention and control work of the epidemic with the economic and social development, ensured the practice of a package of policies and measures to stabilise the economy, and maintained a steady economic growth trend.

According to the total accounting results of Guangdong Province's gross regional product (GRP), Huizhou's GRP in the first half of 2022 was 240.719 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 3.6%. Among them, the value-added output of the primary industries was 11.674 billion yuan, increasing by 9.0% year-on-year; the value-added output of the secondary industries was 131.267 billion yuan, increasing by 8.3% year-on-year; and the value-added output of the tertiary industries was 97.778 billion yuan, decreasing by 2.3% year-on-year.

I. Agricultural production maintained a double-digit growth

In the first half of the year, the output of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery recorded 19.459 billion yuan, increasing by 10.0% and maintaining a double-digit growth. We have guaranteed the sufficient supply of vegetables and fruits, with the yield of vegetables and edible fungi increasing by 5.1%; and that of fruits increasing by 5.2%; the slaughter rate of hogs increased by 9.3% to the number of 808,700; the output of pork, poultry meat and eggs respectively rose by 9.9%, 8.9% and 12.4%. At the end of this quarter, there were totally 913,300 live hogs in stock, with an increase of 4.2%. The output of aquatic products increased by 8.8%, among which seawater products increased by 1.5% and freshwater products rose by 13.5%.

II. The industrial economy witnessed faster growth

In the first half of the year, the value-added industrial output was 114.196 billion yuan, increasing by 9.1%. 34 major categories of industries on stream totally grew by 73.5%. Compared to the first quarter, the increasing rate of the value-added output of 12 industries has risen. The pillar industries evidently serve as an underpinning role, among which the value-added output of the electronics industry increased by 6.3%; that of petrochemical energy and new materials industries increased by 13.8%, including the growth of 23.1% in the petrochemical industry, and the decrease of 0.5% in the energy industry, as well as the growth of 2.0% in the new materials manufacturing industry; the value-added output of life and health manufacturing industries grew by 6.5%, and meanwhile with the combination and drive of the "2+1" industries, the overall citywide value-added industrial output increased by 6.1 percentage points. The output of advanced manufacturing industries grew by 11.7%, accounting for 66.5% of that of all citywide industries; the value-added output of high-tech manufacturing industries went up 8.8%, accounting for 41% of that of all citywide industries. Seen by the category of products, the output of over half of the major industrial products has risen, including raw chemicals, medical equipment and instruments, as well as LCD screens, with the respective growth of 41.2%, 28.1% and 19%.

III. Fine growth in the fixed-asset investment

In the first half of the year, the fixed-asset investment went up 10.9% year-on-year. By the field, industrial investment developed rapidly, increasing by 51.7%. Among all industries, investment in advanced manufacturing industries grew by 70%; investment in high-tech manufacturing industries grew by 66.2%; investment in technological innovation of industries grew by 22.7%. Infrastructure investment developed much faster, increasing by 10.6%. On the other hand, investment in real estate development fell by 13.3% and the housing sales area of commercial properties fell by 26.9%. The overall investment structure was continuously improved. Industrial investment accounted for 42.4% of the fixed-asset investment, 7 percentage points higher than the proportion of real estate development investment; the investment of advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries accounted for 26.0% and 15.9% of the fixed-asset investment respectively, with 9 and 5.3 percentage points for each higher than the same period last year.

IV. Overall steady market expenditure

In the first half of the year, total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 96.905 billion yuan, with an increase of 2.2%. By the location of business units, retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas grew by 2.5%, while retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas went up 1.2%. By the consumption pattern, retail sales of commodities grew by 2.4%, while the revenue from food and beverage decreased by 0.3%. The figure for daily consumption needs maintained the same, with retail sales of daily necessities, food and oil, beverages, tobacco and alcohol above the quota increasing by 26.5%, 20.7%, 16.6% and 12.5% respectively; the retail sales of communication equipment and home appliances rebounded rapidly, growing by 44.6% and 42.7% respectively in June, with a respective growth of 43.1 and 30.7 percentage points over the same month in May. Online retail sales maintained a rapid growth, with the online retail sales of units above the quota increasing by 32.5%.

V. Increase in the growth rate of foreign trade export

Foreign trade imports and exports totalled 148.741 billion yuan, with an increase of 10.0%. Specifically, foreign trade export volume reached 100.336 billion yuan, increasing by 9.1%, 3.7 percentage points of the growth rate over the first quarter; the import volume also reached 48.404 billion yuan, increasing by 12.1%.

VI. Smooth growth of taxation and finance

In the first half of the year, the general public budgeted revenue reached 22.997 billion yuan, falling by 9.4%; after deducting the factor of tax rebates, the figure was 25.362 billion yuan, falling by 1.3%. Domestic tax revenue hit 49.418 billion yuan, falling by 14%, and after deducting the tax rebate factor, the figure was 60.017 billion yuan, increasing by 3%. The balance of financial deposits was 841.247 billion yuan, with an increase of 5.2%; and the balance of financial loans was 915.124 billion yuan, increasing by 13.1%.

VII. Moderate increase in consumer prices

In the first half of the year, the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.5% year-on-year. The price of consumer goods rose by 3.4% year-on-year. From the composition of the eight major categories, the price of food, tobacco and alcohol rose by 1.2%; clothing fell by 0.4%; residential housing rose by 1.3%; household goods and services rose by 2.3%; transportation and communications rose by 9.3%; health care remained flat from the same period last year; education, culture and entertainment rose by 2.1%; and other supplies and services rose by 1.7%. The Industrial Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by 6.7% year-on-year.

Notes:

(1) The growth rates of GRP, the value-added industrial output above designated size and their subdivided items have been calculated at comparable prices and thus are actual growth rates; other indicators have been calculated at current prices and thus are nominal growth rates unless particularly stated.

(2) The accounting calibre of GRP has included the R&D expenditure.

(3) According to the latest industrial classification standards, the primary industries do not include agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery services; the secondary industries do not include mining auxiliary activities and repairing and maintenance of metal products, machinery and equipment; the tertiary industries include agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery services, mining auxiliary activities and repairing and maintenance of metal products, machinery and equipment.

(4) The financial data above come from the People's Bank of China Huizhou Central Branch; the price indices come from the Huizhou Survey Team of the National Bureau of Statistics; the electricity consumption data come from the local power supply bureau.