Wholesale and retail trade dip 35% in 2020

There were 15,996 wholesale and retail establishments, market stalls and fixed street stalls operating in 2020, an increase of 256 from the previous year, information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicates.
However, total number of people engaged in retail decreased by 436 to 71,575, with employees accounting for 80.7% of the total. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, receipts of the sector fell by 34.8% to MOP85.06 billion, and expenditure dropped by 32% to MOP81.27 billion. Gross surplus declined by 75.2%, to a total of MOP3.07 billion. Gross Value Added, which measures the sectoral contribution to the economy, dropped 44.5% to MOP13.36 billion, and Gross Fixed Capital Formation slipped 34.6% to MOP729 billion.
Wholesale establishments totaled 6,284, an increase of 370, and the number of persons engaged rose by 1,265 to 22,461. Receipts went down by 26.3% to MOP31.63 billion. Expenditure decreased by 23.7% to MOP29.87 billion. Gross surplus went down by 59.4%, amounting to MOP1.66 billion. Gross Value Added fell by 34.6% to MOP4.83 billion, and Gross Fixed Capital Formation dropped by 14% to MOP212 million.
Retail establishments decreased by 74 to 7,245, with the number of persons engaged dropping by 1,295 to 42,296. Receipts went down by 39.9% to MOP47.64 billion. Expenditure fell by 39.9% to MOP47.64 billion. Gross surplus tumbled by 88.1% to MOP897 million. Staff reporter