The European Union outpaced the United States and Japan as Shanghai's largest trading partner, according to recently released customs statistics for January, Xinhau reports.

Total Shanghai-EU imports and exports were valued at US$8.77 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 48.8 per cent. Shanghai sent out goods valued at US$6.19 million to the EU while the imports from Europe reached a value of US$2.58 million, showing a year-on-year increase of 56.8 per cent for exports and 32.78 per cent for imports.

Analysts put the rapid acceleration in the Shanghai-EU trade to the recent inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania in the trading partnership.

In January, the value of Shanghai's imports and exports to and from the US amounted to US$728 million, and with Japan, US$515 million; and with ASEAN countries, US$358 million - representing a growth of 30.7 per cent, 17.8 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively.

Also, the EU was Shanghai's largest trade partner in 2006 with a bilateral value of US$87.07 billion. However, if import and export items were calculated separately, the US was still the largest export market for Shanghai last year, while Japan was Shanghai's largest import source.