A worker is on the assembly line of Dongfeng passenger vehicle in Wuhan, capital of Central China’s Hubei Province. Photo: cnsphotos

The GDP of Central China's Hubei Province, also the province that has been hit hardest in the country during the pandemic, contracted by 39.2 percent in the first quarter of this year, data from Hubei Provincial Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday.

Total GDP in the first quarter only recorded 637.94 billion yuan ($90.2 billion), and almost all major economic indicators have reported an unprecedented fall as economic activity ground to a halt amid the province's tough fight to control COVID-19.

Specifically, fixed-asset investment plunged by 82.8 percent in the first quarter year-on-year, with infrastructure investment dropping by 84.4 percent. Total retail sales of consumer goods dived 44.9 percent to 293.943 billion yuan. While industrial added value was down 45.8 percent.

Per capita disposable income of urban permanent residents in the province was 9,412 yuan, down 11.8 percent.

Meanwhile, exports plummeted 38.1 percent in the first quarter, while total imports rose by 11.1 percent, with clothing imports growing 23.7 times and textiles imports (mainly medical protective supplies) surging by 90 times.

While the significant first-quarter contraction represents the unavoidable price of controlling the deadly virus, easing figures in March show the province is mounting a steady recovery, officials and analysts said.

The unprecedented fall also comes after Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, has gone through a 76-day lockdown to save lives and prevent the pandemic from spreading further across the country. Almost all economic activity in the province was "halted" during the period.

The pandemic influence is short-term and under control, says Hubei Statistics Bureau, adding that with the situation gradually improving starting in March, a push for work resumption and a list of macro policies on the way, the economy in the province is gradually recovering.

As of April 14, 98 percent of the province's major enterprises have resumed production and consumption is also rapidly recovering, driven by online sales, said the bureau.

"Looking at the economic situation, we must not only see the difficulties and challenges, but also have confidence. Although the growth rate is declining, the industrial base remains strong," Wuhan statistics bureau said.

Overall, China's GDP contracted 6.8 percent in the first three months of the year, the first decline since 1992 when the nation started publishing quarterly GDP data.