Sina-Luso trade drops 25.54 pct

Trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries fell 25.54 per cent year-on-year in the January-February period, according to data from the Chinese Customs department published by the Forum Macau.
Total commercial trade amounted to US$11.19 billion (MOP89.39 billion) throughout the two-month period, with Portuguese-speaking countries selling goods amounting to US$7.15 billion to China – a 0.95 per cent increase year-on-year.
However, Chinese exports to Portuguese-speaking countries during the same period only reached US$4.038 billion, a drop of 49.16 per cent year-on-year. An 18.26 per cent month-on-month decline was also registered in the total value of merchandise traded in February – which reached US$5.03 billion during the month.
February also saw a month-to-month 28.28 per cent drop in goods China sold to Portuguese-speaking countries – amounting to US$1.68 billion, while imports to China from the countries also dropped, down 12.06 per cent month-to-month – hitting US$3.35 billion.
Brazil remained the primary trading partner with China, with US$7.63 billion in trade registered throughout the two-month period – a 22 per cent drop year-on-year, US$3.21 billion of which was conducted in February. Angola came in as second highest partner during the period, logging US$2.45 billion in trade – a 38.4 per cent year-on-year drop, US$1.34 billion of which occurred in February. Both Brazilian and Angolan exports to China in the two-month period dropped extensively, amounting to a 50. 27 per cent and 77.32 per cent year-on-year fall, respectively.