Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total exports of goods amounted to MOP703 million in September 2009, down by 51.2% year-on-year, with the value of domestic exports falling by 69.7% to MOP234 million and that of re-exports dropping by 29.9% to MOP470 million. The value of total imports of goods amounted to MOP3.36 billion, down by 6.6% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP2.65 billion was recorded for September 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, the value of total exports (MOP1.88 billion) and imports (MOP9.66 billion) went down by 56.9% and 14.8% respectively over the same quarter of 2008, resulting in a trade deficit of MOP7.78 billion. From January to September 2009, total value of merchandise exports fell by 55.1% year-on-year to MOP5.78 billion, of which the value of domestic exports and re-exports declined by 69.5% and 32.5% respectively; meanwhile, total value of merchandise imports slid by 19.3% to MOP26.45 billion. The trade deficit for the first nine months of 2009 widened by 3.9% year-on-year to MOP20.67 billion; the exports/imports ratio went down by 17.4 percentage points to 21.9%. Analyzed by destination of Macao’s exports, in the first nine months of 2009, the value of merchandise exports to the USA, the EU and Mainland China decreased by 79.3%, 59.6% and 45.4% respectively year-on-year. The value of Textile & garment exports declined by 72.7% year-on-year to account for 35.7% of the total exports of goods; meanwhile, the value of Non-textile exports dropped by 30.3%. Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, the value of merchandise imports from Mainland China dropped by 38.2% year-on-year, but that from the EU rose by 5.4%. The value of imports by Broad Economic Category registered year-on-year decrease, of which Raw materials & semi-manufactures and Fuels & lubricants fell by 40.9% and 25.7% respectively; meanwhile, the value of imports of Consumer goods recorded a mild decrease of 5.8%, with that of Food & beverages rising by 17.8%.
