Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that there were 15,996 wholesale & retail establishments, market stalls and fixed street stalls operating in 2020, an increase of 256 year-on-year; however, total number of persons engaged decreased by 436 to 71,575, with employees accounting for 80.7% of the total. As affected by the pandemic of novel coronavirus pneumonia, receipts of Wholesale & Retail Trade fell by 34.8% year-on-year to MOP 85.06 billion, and expenditure dropped by 32.0% to MOP 81.27 billion. Gross Surplus totalled MOP 3.07 billion, a decline of 75.2% year-on-year. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy slid by 44.5% year-on-year to MOP 13.36 billion, and Gross Fixed Capital Formation dropped by 34.6% to MOP 729 million.
Wholesale establishments totalled 6,284, an increase of 370 year-on-year, and number of persons engaged rose by 1,265 to 22,461. Receipts of these establishments went down by 26.3% year-on-year to MOP 31.63 billion, with receipts from Wholesale of Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (MOP 4.29 billion) and Wholesale of Fuels (MOP 3.43 billion) declining by 45.4% and 36.1% respectively; meanwhile, receipts of Wholesale Agents (MOP 1.74 billion) inched up by 0.7%. Expenditure of wholesale establishments decreased by 23.7% year-on-year to MOP 29.87 billion, dragged down by a drop of 27.8% in Purchase of Goods & Commission Paid; Operating Expenses and Compensation of Employees dipped by 4.8% and 3.7% respectively. Gross Surplus amounted to MOP 1.66 billion, down by 59.4% year-on-year. Gross Value Added fell by 34.6% year-on-year to MOP 4.83 billion, whereas Gross Fixed Capital Formation dropped by 14.0% to MOP 212 million.
Retail establishments decreased by 74 year-on-year to 7,245, with number of persons engaged dropping by 1,295 to 42,296. Receipts of these establishments plunged by 39.9% year-on-year to MOP 47.64 billion. Expenditure of these establishments diminished by 36.4% year-on-year to MOP 46.20 billion, of which Purchase of Goods & Commission Paid, Operating Expenses and Compensation of Employees declined by 42.2%, 27.4% and 15.6% respectively. Gross Surplus tumbled by 88.1% year-on-year to MOP 897 million. Among the major retail trade activities, receipts from Sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (MOP 7.89 billion) and Adults’ Clothing (MOP 4.69 billion) sank by 55.2% and 50.0% respectively, which led the two industries to record respective losses of MOP 97 million and MOP 463 million. Receipts of Department Stores (MOP 7.33 billion) and their Gross Surplus went down by 47.8% and 87.3% year-on-year respectively. Meanwhile, Receipts of Supermarkets (MOP 5.78 billion) remained stable, while Gross Surplus went down by 5.3%. Gross Value Added of retail establishments declined by 51.3% to MOP 7.43 billion. Gross Fixed Capital Formation slid by 41.1% year-on-year to MOP 493 million, ascribable to a reduction in large-scale renovation works by some establishments amid the pandemic.
There were 1,065 establishments operating in Sales of Motor Vehicles & Automotive Fuel, an increase of 13 year-on-year; yet, number of persons engaged decreased by 223 to 4,359. Receipts of these establishments shrank by 32.8% year-on-year to MOP 4.48 billion. Expenditure fell by 35.7% year-on-year to MOP 4.06 billion, of which Purchase of Goods & Commission Paid, Operating Expenses and Compensation of Employees declined by 41.2%, 10.4% and 14.1% respectively. Gross Surplus and Gross Value Added totalled MOP 335 million and MOP 888 million respectively, down by 34.2% and 23.0% year-on-year. Gross Fixed Capital Formation dropped by 20.2% year-on-year to MOP 23.48 million.
Number of market stalls & fixed stalls on the street totalled 1,402, with 2,459 persons engaged, down by 183 year-on-year. Receipts (MOP 1.31 billion), expenditure (MOP 1.14 billion), Gross Surplus (MOP 170 million) and Gross Value Added (MOP 213 million) of these stalls showed varying degrees of decline in 2020.