(Yicai) Oct. 13 -- China's exports dropped less than predicted last month and the trend of recovery is expected to continue this quarter, according to customs.

Exports declined by 6.2 percent to USD299.1 billion in September from a year ago, whereas they had slumped by 8.8 percent in August, Lv Daliang, spokesperson of the General Administration of Customs, said today.

Chief economists polled by Yicai predicted that exports could decrease as much as 7.8 percent last month whereas the nation's trade surplus could be about USD71.3 billion. The forecast was modest as the actual trade surplus expanded to around USD77.7 billion from USD68.4 billion in August, per the GAC.

Imports slid by 6.2 percent to USD221.4 billion last month, narrowing the pace of decline from August. The total of imports and exports tallied around USD520.6 billion, higher than USD501.4 billion logged a month earlier.

The biggest challenge facing exporters is the unstable global momentum of economic recovery, Lv said, adding that China still has comprehensive advantages. The share of surveyed firms that said their export orders remained stable or increased last month rose by 0.8 percentage point from a month earlier and the portion of firms saying they are optimistic about future exports increased by 1.3 percentage point.

The export market has changed in a good way in the past two months, per Lv. In fact, export volumes rose by 8.9 percent in August and 7.9 percent in September. Exports of consumer electronics, which tend to have an edge, remained stable. Shipments of lithium batteries, electric vehicles, and solar cells maintained double-digit growth for the 14th straight month. Declines in China’s exports to Japan, the European Union, South Korea, and the United States narrowed while the corresponding numbers grew in emerging markets, including the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, Lv added.

In the first nine months of this year, the nation's trade surplus totaled about USD630.3 billion. Exports fell by 5.7 percent to USD2.52 trillion year-over-year while imports dropped by 7.5 percent to USD1.89 trillion. Part of the unimpressive performance is caused by the strengthening US dollar as China's dollar-denominated foreign trade totaled USD4.4 trillion in the first three quarters, a decrease of 6.4 percent.

Editor: Emmi Laine