The fall in China's foreign trade would be lower than 20 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Friday.

Because of a lower comparison basis in the fourth quarter last year and policies to ease and stimulate exports, the country's foreign trade would fall at a slower pace or even rise slightly during the rest of the year, MOC said in a report posted on its website.

Although China's foreign trade declined 20.9 percent year on year in the first nine months, there were positive changes. Compared with a year earlier, foreign trade dropped 24.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, 22.1 percent in the second and 16.7 percent in the third, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.

However, MOC warned uncertainties and unstable factors China's foreign trade would face as world recovery would be complicated and the global demand would not improve in short term.