URUMQI, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has achieved growth in foreign trade for three consecutive months since June, local authorities said.

In August, the region's total import and export volume exceeded 15.6 billion yuan (around 2.3 billion U.S. dollars), up 31.5 percent year on year, said the Urumqi Customs.

Of the total volume, Xinjiang's exports, dominated by mechanical, electrical and labor-intensive products, rose 39.9 percent year on year to 11.76 billion yuan in August. Meanwhile, the region's imports, mainly energy commodities, hit 3.87 billion yuan, an annual increase of 11.2 percent.

In June and July, the region's foreign trade registered a year-on-year rise of 10.6 percent and 32.9 percent, respectively.

In the first eight months of this year, Kazakhstan was Xinjiang's largest trading partner, accounting for over 50 percent of the region's total. Besides, the region also saw increasing trade volume with India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Italy and Saudi Arabia in the period.