Foreign trade and economic cooperation agreements involving more than US$2.06 billion were signed at the five-day Kunming Import & Export Commodity Fair, which concluded Thursday.

It included US$939 million worth of import and export orders signed between the province with nearly 20 countries and regions.

The value of local exported products, mainly phosphorus chemicals, nonferrous metals, farm and sideline products, bio-pharmaceuticals, and tobacco, reached US$547 million.

And the main local imports, valued at US$392 million, are machinery, equipment, ore and steel.

The province signed US$431 million of import and export contracts with the 10 ASEAN nations, a big rise compared with the previous year.

The province also introduced US$1.07 billion of contractual overseas investment for 52 local projects, which are mainly involved in energy, transportation, road construction, mineral resource development and urban infrastructure improvement.

The province attracted 30 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion) of investment from elsewhere nationwide for 180 projects.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2004)