Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for August 2011 amounted to MOP546 million, down slightly by 0.2% year-on-year, with exports of Textile & garment declining by 17.8%; value of domestic exports (MOP202 million) increased by 3.2%, but that of re-exports (MOP344 million) decreased by 2.1%. Increase in total merchandise import continued and rose notably by 51.5% year-on-year to MOP5.72 billion. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.17 billion in August 2011. In the first eight months of 2011, total value of merchandise export decreased by 5.4% year-on-year to MOP4.53 billion, of which value of re-exports declined by 8.0%; meanwhile, total value of merchandise import increased by 39.8% to MOP39.02 billion. Merchandise trade deficit for the first eight months of 2011 widened by 49.2% year-on-year to MOP34.48 billion; the exports/imports ratio dropped by 5.6 percentage points year-on-year to 11.6%. Merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP1.94 billion), Mainland China (MOP740 million) and the USA (MOP393 million) in the first eight months of 2011 decreased by 6.4%, 2.4% and 30.3% respectively year-on-year. Exports of Textile & garment declined by 13.8% to MOP956 million; meanwhile, exports of Jewellery (MOP208 million) and Clocks & watches (MOP185 million) decreased by 65.2% and 33.7% respectively, but that of Tobacco & wine (MOP420 million) grew by 72.0%. In the first eight months of 2011, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP11.99 billion) and the EU (MOP9.73 billion) expanded by 37.6% and 59.8% respectively year-on-year. Imports of Consumer goods rose by 42.1% to MOP23.50 billion, with imports of Food & beverages (MOP5.54 billion), Gold jewellery (MOP3.73 billion) and Handbags & wallets (MOP2.03 billion) increasing by 37.1%, 83.5% and 119.3% respectively. Moreover, imports of Capital goods (MOP7.13 billion) registered year-on-year increase of 71.5%. In the first eight months of 2011, total value of external merchandise trade amounted to MOP43.55 billion, up by 33.2% compared with MOP32.70 billion a year earlier.
