China express delivery sector expands in Aug

BEIJING (Xinhua/APP): China’s courier sector registered expansion in August, according to a monthly industry index. The State Post Bureau said the monthly express delivery development index came in at 361.5 in August, up 16.2 percent year on year.

The sub-index for service quality grew 27.1 percent from a year earlier, the sub-index for development scale picked up 10.6 percent year on year, and the sub-index for development capacity went up 3.6 percent year on year.

The operation of China’s courier sector is relatively stable, and the market size continues to grow, said the State Post Bureau.

The index is compiled based on data from major logistics firms’ operating delivery services. It reflects the overall business activities and trends in the country’s courier sector.

Meanwhile, China imported 71.65 million tonnes of soybeans in the first eight months of this year, up 17.9% from a year earlier, customs data showed.

In August alone, the country’s soybean imports reached 9.36 million tonnes, down from 9.73 million tonnes in July and 10.27 million tonnes in June but more than the 7.17 million tonnes imported in the same month last year.

, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

The per-tonne value of the soybean imports dipped 1.5 percent year on year in the first eight months to 4,288.6 yuan (about 593.99 US dollars).

The country, the world’s largest soybean importer, imported a total of 91.08 million tonnes of soybeans last year.