Containers are stockpiled at a port in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]

Huzhou companies have wasted no time in resuming operations after a lull in production during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

Huzhijie Plastic Building Material Co Ltd, which resumed operations on Feb 11, has already produced its latest batch of PVC plastic profiles that will be sold to India.

Based in Huzhou's Deqing county, the company's exports to its three key overseas markets - North America, South America and India - all registered a 50-percent increase in 2021, according to general manager Ding Lingye.

The company's output value stood at 300 million yuan ($46.15 million) last year, with its exports accounting for 90 percent of the total. The company will continue to expand to South American markets while tapping into new opportunities in Africa, Ding said.

The company's ability to grow despite the global pandemic and international trade frictions mirrors Huzhou's growth in imports and exports in recent years.

In 2021, Huzhou's foreign trade amounted to 149.09 billion yuan, up 31.8 percent year-on-year, according to Huzhou Customs.

Specifically, the city's exports rose 32.3 percent to 135.62 billion yuan, with the growth rate being the highest in Zhejiang.

From 2017 to 2021, Huzhou's imports and exports grew at an average of 17.2 percent, with the average increase rate for exports during the five-year period ranking first in the province. 

The number of enterprises that are engaged in foreign trade in the city had increased from 2,498 at the end of 2016 to 3,844 in 2021, official statistics show.