Imports, exports slip in 2016

Total merchandise imports during the month of December 2016 fell by 2.9 percent year-on-year to MOP6.78 billion, according to information released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). Imports of motor vehicles and mobile phones declined by 52.5 percent and 46.1 percent respectively.

During the same month, total merchandise exports from Macau amounted to MOP753 million, down by 16.1 percent year-on-year, according to DSEC. Of this amount, the value of domestic exports (MOP156 million) slid by 12.2 percent, while the value of re-exports dropped 17.1 percent year-on-year.

As a consequence, the merchandise trade deficit amounted to just over MOP6 billion in December last year.

Looking at the whole of last year, the total value of merchandise imports fell by 15.7 percent to MOP71.35 billion when compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, the total value of merchandise exports for 2016 dropped by 6 percent year-on-year to MOP10.05 billion, thus the trade deficit stood at MOP61.31 billion.

Analyzed by place of origin, imports in 2016 from mainland China (MOP25.84 billion) and the European Union (MOP17.03 billion) decreased by 18.9 percent and 9.6 percent respectively year-on-year. However, imports from Portuguese-speaking countries (MOP666 million) increased by 10.7 percent.

External merchandise trade totaled MOP81.4 billion in 2016, down by 14.6 percent compared with the MOP95.36 billion registered in 2015.