Exports, imports take a breather

Total merchandise exports decreased by 12.6 per cent year-on-year to MOP832 million (US$104 million) in July, according to the latest information released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) yesterday.
Meanwhile, total merchandise imports decreased 21.1 per cent year-on- year to MOP5.7 billion in July, of which the import of mobile phones and watches dropped by 45.9 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively.
In July, merchandise trade deficit was recorded at MOP4.87 billion.
From January to July 2016, the total value of merchandise exports decreased 7.4 per cent year-on-year to MOP5.94 billion.
Re-exports and domestic exports both decreased by 7.4 per cent to MOP4.92 billion and by 7.1 per cent to MOP1.02 billion, respectively.
Meanwhile, the total value of merchandise imports was worth MOP39.2 billion, a decrease of 21.3 per cent year-on-year.
External merchandise trade decreased by 19.7 per cent year-on-year to MOP45.13 billion. The merchandise trade deficit widened further to MOP33.25 billion.
Principal merchandise
The export of non-textiles dropped by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to MOP5.54 billion, of which clocks & watches were down 32 per cent to MOP602 million; however, tobacco & wine was up 47.6 per cent, at MOP489 million. Meanwhile, the export of textiles & garments decreased by 14.9 per cent to MOP404 million.
The import of motorcars & motorcycles significantly dropped by 56.4 per cent to MOP700 million. Meanwhile, the import of mobile phones and watches decreased by 47.4 per cent and 42.8 per cent to MOP2.56 billion and MOP2.24 billon, respectively.
Destinations and origins
Also, in the first seven months of this year, analysed by destination, Hong Kong accounted for the largest portion of the total merchandise export, with 58.1 per cent of the total. Merchandise exports to Hong Kong dropped 11.8 per cent year-on-year to MOP3.45 billion from January to February of this year.
The second largest destination was Mainland China, with 17.6 per cent of the total.
However, although exports to Mainland China increased by 0.3 per cent year-on-year to MOP1.04 billion, exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta decreased by 2.1 per cent to MOP980 million.
Meanwhile, exports to the EU and the US decreased by 20.7 per cent and 32 per cent to MOP120 million and MOP86 million, respectively.
In terms of imports, Mainland China accounted for 36.8 per cent of total merchandise, a decrease of 8.7 per cent to MOP6.67 billion year-on-year, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta dropped by 8.3 per cent to MOP6.37 billion.