Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise import and export for August 2017 registered year-on-year decreases attributable to the catastrophic Typhoon Hato. Total merchandise export amounted to MOP805 million, down by 17.2% year-on-year; value of domestic exports (MOP112 million) slid by 50.2%, with that of Tobacco (MOP18 million) falling by 56.8%; meanwhile, value of re-exports (MOP693 million) declined by 7.3%, with that of Electronic components (MOP40 million) decreasing by 72.5%. Total merchandise import dropped by 4.3% year-on-year to MOP6.33 billion, of which imports of Watches and Gold jewellery fell by 22.6% and 13.0% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit in August amounted to MOP5.53 billion.

From January to August 2017, total value of merchandise export increased by 9.0% year-on-year to MOP7.54 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP6.38 billion) rose by 12.7%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.15 billion) decreased by 7.9%. Total value of merchandise import grew by 4.1% year-on-year to MOP47.41 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP39.87 billion for the first eight months of 2017.

Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Mainland China increased by 17.6% year-on-year to MOP1.42 billion in the first eight months of 2017, of which exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP1.26 billion) grew by 11.3%. Furthermore, exports to Hong Kong (MOP4.48 billion), the EU (MOP122 million) and the USA (MOP111 million) rose by 14.3%, 0.1% and 14.3% respectively. Meanwhile, exports to the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP0.7 million) dropped by 87.9% year-on-year. Exports of Non-textiles went up by 7.5% year-on-year to MOP6.91 billion, of which value of Machines, apparatus & parts (MOP774 million) expanded by 32.0%, but that of Electronic components (MOP566 million) declined by 31.2%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP633 million, up by 28.1%.

By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP15.55 billion) and the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP418 million) decreased by 5.8% and 5.4% respectively year-on-year in the first eight months of 2017, whereas imports from the EU (MOP12.33 billion) increased by 11.3%. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China shrank by 2.4% to MOP7.66 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP7.29 billion) fell by 2.1%. Imports of Consumer goods went up by 11.1% to MOP31.58 billion, with imports of Watches (MOP3.40 billion) and Handbags & wallets (MOP2.19 billion) rising by 24.0% and 32.4% respectively. However, value of imports of Mobile phones (MOP2.31 billion) and Construction materials (MOP1.15 billion) declined by 13.8% and 16.0% respectively.

External merchandise trade totalled MOP54.95 billion in the first eight months of 2017, up by 4.8% compared with MOP52.45 billion a year earlier.