Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for October 2018 amounted to MOP1.06 billion, up by 31.2% year-on-year. Value of re-exports (MOP937 million) increased by 35.7%, with that of Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products surging notably by 749.9%; moreover, value of domestic exports (MOP126 million) grew by 4.9%, with that of Tobacco increasing by 39.6%. Total merchandise import rose by 37.8% year-on-year to MOP8.53 billion, of which imports of Mobile phones, Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products and Watches soared by 179.4%, 77.6% and 54.7% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit in October amounted to MOP7.46 billion.
From January to October 2018, total value of merchandise export increased by 8.0% year-on-year to MOP10.13 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP8.84 billion) grew by 11.8%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.29 billion) declined by 12.1%. Total value of merchandise import went up by 23.1% year-on-year to MOP74.31 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP64.19 billion for the first ten months of 2018.
Analysed by destination, merchandise export to the Nine Provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP1.66 billion) increased by 5.3% year-on-year in the first ten months of 2018, but exports to Shanghai (MOP24 million) dropped by 86.1%, resulting in a 4.2% decrease in exports to Mainland China (MOP1.71 billion). In addition, exports to Hong Kong (MOP6.31 billion) and the EU (MOP163 million) rose by 15.5% and 2.2% respectively, whereas exports to the USA (MOP105 million) declined by 31.3%. Meanwhile, exports to the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP24 million) surged by 3,499.1% year-on-year, with that of Pharmaceutical products & organic chemicals jumping by 4,716.7%; exports to the Belt & Road Countries outside of Greater China (MOP271 million) fell by 11.5%. Exports of Non-textiles went up by 11.0% year-on-year to MOP9.54 billion, of which value of Machines, apparatus & parts (MOP1.97 billion) grew by 85.6%, but that of Electronic components (MOP429 million) declined by 32.4%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP586 million, down by 24.8%.
By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP25.87 billion) and the EU (MOP18.47 billion) increased by 29.7% and 19.2% respectively year-on-year in the first ten months of 2018. Moreover, imports from the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP646 million) and the Belt & Road Countries outside of Greater China (MOP6.50 billion) rose by 23.9% and 18.3% respectively. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China expanded by 15.9% year-on-year to MOP11.32 billion, of which imports from the Nine Provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP10.96 billion) rose by 18.0%. Imports of Consumer goods went up by 20.1% to MOP47.84 billion, with imports of Watches (MOP5.44 billion) and Beauty, cosmetic & skin-care products (MOP3.97 billion) rising by 30.5% and 56.7% respectively; in addition, imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP6.16 billion), Mobile phones (MOP5.87 billion) and Construction materials (MOP1.74 billion) grew by 16.9%, 86.9% and 19.5% respectively.
External merchandise trade totalled MOP84.44 billion from January to October 2018, up by 21.1% compared with MOP69.72 billion a year earlier.