BEIJING, Oct 13 — China’s exports rose unexpectedly in September, official data showed today, despite fears that a recent power crunch in the country might hamper production.

This followed a sharp jump in trade in the world’s second largest economy in August, suggesting that overseas demand for consumer goods had surged as a domestic virus outbreak was brought to heel.

But last month many factories were forced to halt operations owing to power outages caused by emission reduction targets, the surging price of coal and supply shortages — raising concern about global supply chains.

Yet, exports rose a better-than-expected 28.1 per cent on-year in September, according to customs authorities — up from 25.6 per cent in August.

However, imports missed predictions and rose 17.6 per cent, just over half as much as the previous month’s increase.

"The external environment has become more complex and severe, and our country’s foreign trade development still faces many unstable and uncertain factors,” customs spokesman Li Kuiwen told reporters today.

But he stressed the resilience of China’s foreign trade, adding that in the first three quarters electronics exports rose 23 per cent in yuan terms — making up almost two-thirds the value of all overseas shipments.

Although import volumes of key commodities such as coal and crude oil decreased slightly in the same period, average prices surged, Li said.

"Affected by the rise in global commodity prices, our import prices rose 11.3 per cent on-year. Among that, the average import prices of iron ore, crude oil, copper and other commodities increased by more than 30 per cent,” he said. — AFP