Merchandise imports down 8.5 percent

Information released Friday by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise imports in September 2016 decreased by 8.5 percent year-on-year to MOP6.32 billion, of which imports of motor cars and construction materials declined by 57.9 percent and 48.4 percent respectively.
Additionally, from January to September this year, the total value of merchandise imports fell by 17.8 percent to MOP52.19 billion.
In the same period, merchandise imports from mainland China (MOP18.92 billion) and the European Union (MOP12.75 billion) decreased by 19.4 percent and 10.8 percent year-on-year respectively.
Analyzed by place of consignment, merchandise imports from China in the first three quarters of 2016 declined by 6.2 percent to around MOP9 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta region (MOP8.52 billion) fell by 6.6 percent.
Imports of consumer goods in the first three quarters dropped by 13.6 percent to MOP32.85 billion, led by significant declines in watches (-31.9 percent) and motor cars and motorcycles (-55.6 percent). Outside of consumer goods, the most notable declines occurred in imports of fuel and lubricants (MOP4.66 billion) and construction materials (MOP1.51 billion), falling by 12.7 percent and 37.3 percent respectively.
Total merchandise exports for September amounted to around MOP821 million (down by 3.5 percent), while the value of re-
exports dropped 17.4 percent to MOP589 million. The month’s merchandise trade deficit reached MOP5.5 billion.
For the first three quarters of 2016, external merchandise trade totaled MOP59.93 billion, down by 16.4 percent compared with the same period last year that recorded MOP71.67 billion.