The foreign trade outlook for the first quarter remains challenging due to slowing demand for consumer goods worldwide, Shen Danyang, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, said on Thursday.

Adjusted for seasonal variation, foreign trade growth continued to slow, Shen said, because demand for Chinese goods is declining among China's main trade partners -- the US, the EU and Japan -- where unemployment remains high.

China's exports dropped by 0.5 percent year-on-year in January to $149.94 billion. Imports fell by 15.3 percent to $122.66 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $27.28 billion, according to the General Administration of Customs.