A staff member presents cashmere clothing during the 5th China Xizang Tourism and Culture Expo in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 17, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

LHASA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The export value of local agricultural specialties from southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region soared 39.7 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2024, local authorities said on Monday.

Xizang's first-quarter exports of its characteristic agricultural products had an approximate total value of 22 million yuan (about 3.1 million U.S. dollars), and included cashmere, highland barley wine and natural drinking water from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

The Lhasa Customs technology center has built six testing laboratories, two of which are national-level labs. In the first three months of this year, more than 400 batches of regional specialty samples were tested, such as its natural drinking water, according to the customs.

Notably, Xizang exported non-cashmere wool products worth some 3.08 million yuan during the period, up 42.4 percent year on year. Its export value of cashmere neared 11 million yuan, up 18.6 percent year on year.

Local customs authorities have stepped up their efforts to improve customs clearance efficiency to facilitate the region's exports.