External Merchandise Trade Statistics for June 2019

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for June 2019 amounted to MOP906 million, down by 14.3% year-on-year. Value of re-exports (MOP793 million) decreased by 14.9%, with that of Machines, apparatus & parts falling by 44.6%. Value of domestic exports (MOP113 million) declined by 10.2%, with that of Pharmaceutical products & organic chemicals decreasing by 41.4%. Total merchandise import fell by 7.3% year-on-year to MOP6.66 billion, of which imports of Mobile phones, Handbags & wallets and Fuels & lubricants dropped by 60.9%, 12.8% and 6.5% respectively; meanwhile, imports of Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products rose by 35.0%. Merchandise trade deficit in June totalled MOP5.75 billion.

In the second quarter of 2019, total value of merchandise export (MOP2.77 billion) and merchandise import (MOP20.78 billion) dropped by 14.2% and 0.3% respectively year-on-year, resulting in a trade deficit of MOP18.02 billion.

In the first half year 2019, total value of merchandise export increased by 3.3% year-on-year to MOP6.40 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP5.73 billion) grew by 6.2% but that of domestic exports (MOP674 million) declined by 16.1%. Total value of merchandise import fell by 1.7% year-on-year to MOP42.42 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP36.02 billion for the first half year of 2019.

Analysed by destination, merchandise export to mainland China decreased by 22.2% year-on-year to MOP783 million in the first half year of 2019, of which exports to the Nine Provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP754 million) declined by 23.1%. Exports to the EU (MOP95 million) fell by 11.4% year-on-year, whereas exports to Hong Kong (MOP4.28 billion) and the USA (MOP91 million) expanded by 9.3% and 40.0% respectively. Meanwhile, exports to the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP0.97 million) and the Belt and Road Countries (MOP90 million) fell by 96.0% and 33.5% respectively. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP464 million, up by 39.4%. Exports of Non-textiles went up by 1.3% year-on-year to MOP5.94 billion, of which value of Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products (MOP307 million) surged by 349.4%, but that of Articles for casino (MOP103 million) dropped by 48.0%.

By place of origin, merchandise import from mainland China (MOP14.06 billion) decreased by 5.8% year-on-year in the first half year of 2019. On the other hand, imports from the EU (MOP11.53 billion), the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP432 million) and the Belt and Road Countries (MOP6.28 billion) increased by 5.0%, 9.8% and 85.9% respectively. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from mainland China grew by 4.4% year-on-year to MOP6.56 billion, of which imports from the Nine Provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP6.38 billion) rose by 5.2%. Imports of Consumer goods went up by 6.8% to MOP29.58 billion, with imports of Garments & footwear (MOP4.10 billion) and Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products (MOP3.02 billion) rising by 19.4% and 35.1% respectively; meanwhile, imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP3.40 billion), Mobile phones (MOP2.41 billion) and Construction materials (MOP739 million) declined by 0.2%, 35.8% and 31.9% respectively.

External merchandise trade totalled MOP48.82 billion in the first half year of 2019, down by 1.1% compared with MOP49.36 billion a year earlier.