URUMQI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has seen rapid growth in the imports of Georgian wine this year, statistics from local customs showed.

A total of 871,400 liters of Georgian wine were imported via the port of Khorgos from January to April this year, which registered a year-on-year growth of 41.4 percent. The trade volume during the same period was 18.8 million yuan (2.7 million U.S. dollar), Khorgos Customs said.

The swift increase was the result of tariff breaks under a free trade agreement signed by China and Georgia in 2017.

Since the agreement came into force in January 2018, Georgian wine has been able to enter the Chinese market at a preferential duty-free price, which benefits businesses on both sides.

Data from local customs showed over 3 million liters of Georgian wine were imported from Georgia to China via Khorgos from January 2018 to April this year. The total trade volume during the same period topped 71.9 million yuan, which helped reduce more than 11 million yuan in duties.