Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for December 2011 amounted to MOP734 million, up by 35.9% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP509 million) and domestic exports (MOP225 million) increased by 50.7% and 11.1% respectively. Total merchandise import amounted to MOP6.44 billion, up by 41.6% year-on-year, of which imports of Mobile phones and Gold jewellery soared by 109.1% and 106.0% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.70 billion in December 2011. In the fourth quarter of 2011, total value of merchandise export (MOP1.92 billion) increased by 14.6% year-on-year, and that of merchandise import (MOP17.88 billion) rose by 44.7%, resulting in a trade deficit of MOP15.97 billion. For the whole year of 2011, total value of merchandise export increased slightly by 0.2% year-on-year to MOP6.97 billion, the first rebound since 2006; meanwhile, total value of merchandise import grew by 41.2% to MOP62.29 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened by 48.9% year-on-year to MOP55.32 billion in 2011; the exports/imports ratio dropped by 4.6 percentage points year-on-year to 11.2%. Merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP3.11 billion) in 2011 increased by 3.5%, but that to Mainland China (MOP1.10 billion) and the USA (MOP556 million) decreased by 0.4% and 28.9% respectively year-on-year. Exports of Textile & garment declined by 17.7% to MOP1.34 billion; exports of Non-textile (MOP5.63 billion) increased by 5.6%, of which exports of Tobacco & wine (MOP670 million) and Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof (MOP628 million) grew by 42.4% and 39.8% respectively. In 2011, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP19.12 billion) and the EU (MOP15.51 billion) expanded by 39.4% and 55.7% respectively year-on-year. Imports of Consumer goods rose by 46.6% to MOP38.48 billion, with imports of Food & beverages (MOP8.58 billion), Gold jewellery (MOP6.66 billion) and Handbags & wallets (MOP3.50 billion) increasing by 33.7%, 99.7% and 114.8% respectively. Moreover, imports of Capital goods (MOP10.92 billion) registered year-on-year increase of 57.1%. For the whole year of 2011, total value of external merchandise trade amounted to MOP69.26 billion, up by 35.6% compared with MOP51.08 billion in 2010.
