China's commodity trade volume dropped 13-point-eight percent last month year-on-year to about 302-point-eight trillion won.

According to Xinhua news agency, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China said Friday that exports fell 20-point-seven percent on-year to 153-point-seven trillion won in February and imports were down by over five percent to post 140 trillion won.

But the report said the trade volume expanded three-point-nine percent from last year if the Chinese New Year, known as the Spring Festival factor, was ruled out.

In this case, both exports and imports last month grew one and a half percent and six-point-five percent respectively year-on-year.

Chinese portal site Sina.com also noted the tendency for Chinese firms to push up exports and delay imports around the time of the Spring Festival, which explains why export growth tends to be higher in January than in February and the other way around for imports.

Meanwhile, China's trade surplus last month posted 49-point-six trillion won, down 13-point-six percent from February last year.