Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total exports of goods amounted to MOP582 million in August 2009, down by 55.7% year-on-year, with the value of domestic exports falling by 70.0% to MOP224 million and that of re-exports dropping by 37.0% to MOP358 million. The value of total imports of goods amounted to MOP3.09 billion, down by 13.9% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP2.50 billion was recorded for August 2009.

From January to August 2009, total value of merchandise exports fell by 55.3% year-on-year to MOP5.11 billion, of which the value of domestic exports and re-exports declined by 69.5% and 32.1% respectively; meanwhile, total value of merchandise imports slid by 20.9% to MOP23.10 billion. The trade deficit for the first eight months of 2009 widened by 1.4% year-on-year to MOP17.98 billion; the exports/imports ratio went down markedly by 17.1 percentage points to 22.1%.

Analyzed by destination of Macao’s exports, in the first eight months of 2009, the value of merchandise exports to the USA, the EU and Mainland China decreased by 79.2%, 60.1% and 45.7% respectively year-on-year. The value of Textile & garment exports declined by 72.4% year-on-year to account for 36.8% of the total exports of goods; meanwhile, the value of Non-textile exports dropped by 30.3%.

Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, value of merchandise imports from Mainland China dropped by 40.0% year-on-year, but that from the EU rose by 3.8%. The value of imports by Broad Economic Category registered year-on-year decrease, of which Raw materials & semi-manufactures and Fuels & lubricants fell by 41.6% and 26.8% respectively; meanwhile, the value of imports of Consumer goods recorded a mild decrease of 8.2%, with that of Food & beverages rising by 16.5%.