Economy | Imports down 21 percent in 2016

According to information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), the total amount of imported merchandise declined in April by 18.6 percent year-on-year to MOP5.57 billion, of which imports of mobile phones and motorcars decreased by 63.9 percent and 61.2 percent respectively.
The total value of imported merchandise over the first four months of 2016 fell by 21.6 percent to MOP22.78 billion. In comparison, exports were down 5.6 percent to MOP3.45 billion. Over this four month period, the trade deficit widened to MOP19.33 billion.
Analyzed by place of origin, merchandise imported from mainland China (MOP8.23 billion) and the European Union (MOP5.42 billion) during the first four months of 2016 decreased by 24.6 percent and 19.9 percent respectively year-on-year.
Analysis by place of consignment reveals that merchandise imported from mainland China declined by 10.6 percent to MOP3.53 billion during this period, of which imports from the Pan-Pearl River Delta region fell by 10.4 percent to MOP3.34 billion.
Imports of consumer goods (MOP14.32 billion), watches (MOP1.41 billion) and motor vehicles (MOP434 million) dropped by 15.7 percent, 37.1 percent and 52.1 percent respectively. In addition, imports of fuels and lubricants (MOP1.8 billion), mobile phones (MOP1.61 billion) and construction materials (MOP674 million) declined by 16.1 percent, 54.7 percent and 37.1 percent respectively.
The DSEC also indicated that the total merchandise exports for April 2016 amounted to MOP755 million, down by 20.9 percent year-on-year.
External merchandise trade totaled MOP26.24 billion in the first four months of 2016, down by 19.8 percent compared with MOP32.72 billion a year earlier.