Chinaese exports fall 22.9 percent in July, imports down 14.9 percent

Chinese exports, imports fall sharply in July

BEIJING — China’s government says the decline in the country’s exports and imports accelerated in July amid weak global consumer demand.

Tuesday’s report by the Chinese customs agency says exports were down 22.9 percent from a year earlier, while imports fell 14.9 percent.

That was a sharper decline than June’s contraction in trade.

China’s trade has been battered by a plunge in consumer demand for its goods amid the worst global downturn since the 1930s.