Merchandise import decline by 4.3 pct

Merchandise imports declined by 4.3 percent year-on-year to MOP6.88 billion in April, data collected by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) shows. Imports of gold jewelry and watches dropped significantly by 41.7 percent and 8.6 percent respectively.
Merchandise exports in April amounted to MOP953 million, up by 15.2 percent year-on-
year. DSEC added that the merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.93 billion.
In the first four months of 2015, the total value of merchandise imports rose by 1.2 percent to MOP29.10 billion, while the total value of merchandise exports grew by 10.7 percent year-on-
year to MOP3.65 billion.
Merchandise imports from mainland China (MOP10.92 billion) increased by 18.6 year-on-year, while imports from the European Union countries (MOP6.70 billion) fell by 9.5 percent. DSEC also revealed that imports of mobile phones (MOP3.55 billion) increased by 56.5 percent. However, imports of consumer goods dropped by 8 percent to MOP17.02 billion, while imports of gold jewelry (MOP2.42 billion) decreased by 33.2 percent.