Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for May 2017 amounted to MOP894 million, up by 7.4% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP752 million) increased by 10.9%, with that of Travel goods, handbags & related products (MOP78 million) surging by 92.8%; however, value of domestic exports (MOP142 million) dropped by 7.9%, with that of Tobacco (MOP24 million) falling by 47.5%. Total merchandise import went up by 10.4% year-on-year to MOP5.84 billion, of which imports of Gold jewellery and Watches increased by 73.4% and 47.5% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP4.94 billion.
From January to May 2017, total value of merchandise export increased by 8.9% year-on-year to MOP4.67 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP3.94 billion) and domestic exports (MOP734 million) rose by 9.5% and 5.7% respectively. Total value of merchandise import grew by 5.3% year-on-year to MOP29.13 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP24.46 billion for the first five months of 2017.
Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Mainland China decreased by 0.8% year-on-year to MOP712 million in the first five months of 2017, of which exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP673 million) fell by 1.4%. On the other hand, exports to Hong Kong (MOP2.96 billion), the EU (MOP84 million) and the USA (MOP76 million) rose by 15.7%, 7.0% and 21.9% respectively. Meanwhile, exports to the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP0.6 million) dropped by 70.7% year-on-year. Exports of Non-textiles increased by 10.5% year-on-year to MOP4.38 billion, of which value of Diamond & diamond jewellery (MOP402 million) expanded by 37.9%, but that of Electronic components (MOP422 million) dropped by 7.5%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP297 million, down by 9.9%.
By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP9.57 billion) and from the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP250 million) decreased by 7.1% and 1.4% respectively year-on-year in the first five months of 2017, whereas imports from the EU (MOP7.55 billion) increased by 17.1%. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China rose by 0.3% to MOP4.54 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP4.32 billion) grew by 0.5%. Imports of Consumer goods went up by 14.3% to MOP19.49 billion, with imports of Gold jewellery (MOP2.70 billion) and Watches (MOP2.11 billion) rising by 32.6% and 38.0% respectively. However, value of imports of Mobile phones (MOP1.64 billion) and Construction materials (MOP762 million) dropped by 17.7% and 15.3% respectively.
External merchandise trade totalled MOP33.81 billion in the first five months of 2017, up by 5.8% compared with MOP31.96 billion a year earlier.