External merchandise trade statistics for March 2015

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for March 2015 amounted to MOP1.05 billion, up by 27.9% year-on-year; value of re-exports expanded by 32.4% to MOP870 million, of which re-exports of Diamond & diamond jewellery soared by 152.9%; value of domestic exports grew by 10.1% to MOP185 million, of which domestic exports of Tobacco increased by 78.9%. Total merchandise import rose by 1.8% year-on-year to MOP7.18 billion. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP6.13 billion. In the first quarter of 2015, total value of merchandise export increased by 9.2% year-on-year to MOP2.70 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP2.20 billion) and domestic exports (MOP500 million) grew by 9.4% and 8.2% respectively. Total value of merchandise import rose by 3.1% to MOP22.25 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP19.55 billion for the first quarter of 2015. Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Hong Kong (MOP1.69 billion) and Mainland China (MOP383 million) in the first quarter of 2015 increased by 10.2% and 25.4% year-on-year, while export to the USA (MOP58 million) and the EU (MOP54 million) decreased by 29.4% and 37.1% respectively. Exports of Non-textiles increased by 9.8% year-on-year to MOP2.50 billion, of which value of Clocks & watches (MOP364 million) and Tobacco (MOP136 million) went up by 30.3% and 93.8% respectively, but that of Machines, apparatus & parts (MOP346 million) dropped by 16.6%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP197 million, up by 1.4%. By country of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP7.47 billion) increased by 8.0% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015, and that from the USA (MOP2.00 billion) surged by 94.6%; meanwhile, import from the EU (MOP5.35 billion) fell by 2.1%. Imports of Consumer goods declined by 5.3% to MOP13.18 billion, with imports of Gold jewellery (MOP1.93 billion) decreasing by 30.2%, but that of Food & beverages (MOP3.18 billion) increasing by 17.0%. Moreover, imports of Mobile phones (MOP2.70 billion) grew by 52.1%. External merchandise trade reached MOP24.95 billion in the first quarter of 2015, up by 3.7% compared with MOP24.05 billion a year earlier.