HOHHOT -- The total import and export volume of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region reached 94.6 billion yuan (about $13.7 billion) from January to August, up 20.4 percent year-on-year.

During this period, its exports totaled nearly 40 billion yuan, an increase of 33.1 percent year-on-year, while its imports increased 12.5 percent year-on-year to 54.7 billion yuan, according to customs of Hohhot, the regional capital.

In the first eight months, Inner Mongolia's main imports included coal and crude oil. The region's coal imports soared 153 percent to 13.8 billion yuan, and crude oil imports reached 930 million yuan, up 13.7 times.

Among the exported goods, Inner Mongolia exported 4.3 billion yuan of agricultural products, an increase of 19.5 percent, and 7.3 billion yuan of mechanical and electrical products, up 67.1 percent.

In the first eight months of 2022, trade between Inner Mongolia and Mongolia, Russia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU) and the United States reached 26.2 billion yuan, 12.6 billion yuan, 9.4 billion yuan, 6.2 billion yuan and 4.5 billion yuan, increasing 27.3 percent, 7 percent, 44.9 percent, 47.8 percent and 25.1 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the region's trade with countries along the Belt and Road, as well as other member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) grew 24.9 percent and 9.2 percent to 57.1 billion yuan and 23.8 billion yuan, respectively.