Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for September 2017 amounted to MOP1.02 billion, up by 24.6% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP835 million) increased by 41.9%, with that of Diamond & diamond jewellery surging by 288.5%; meanwhile, value of domestic exports (MOP188 million) slid by 19.3%, with that of Tobacco falling by 31.6%. Total merchandise import went up by 16.5% year-on-year to MOP7.23 billion, of which imports of Motor cars & motorcycles and Construction materials expanded by 72.8% and 41.7% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit in September amounted to MOP6.20 billion.

In the third quarter of 2017, total value of merchandise export (MOP2.94 billion) and merchandise import (MOP19.56 billion) grew by 12.1% and 5.8% respectively year-on-year, resulting in a trade deficit of MOP16.62 billion.

From January to September 2017, total value of merchandise export rose by 10.7% year-on-year to MOP8.56 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP7.22 billion) increased by 15.5%, but that of domestic exports (MOP1.34 billion) decreased by 9.5%. Total value of merchandise import grew by 5.3% year-on-year to MOP54.47 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP45.91 billion for the first nine months of 2017.

Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Mainland China increased by 21.4% year-on-year to MOP1.63 billion in the first nine months of 2017, of which exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP1.43 billion) grew by 13.3%. Furthermore, exports to Hong Kong (MOP5.03 billion), the EU (MOP143 million) and the USA (MOP134 million) rose by 16.8%, 2.6% and 22.2% respectively. Meanwhile, exports to the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP0.7 million) dropped by 88.0% year-on-year. Exports of Non-textiles went up by 8.9% year-on-year to MOP7.83 billion, of which value of Machines, apparatus & parts (MOP914 million) expanded by 42.0%, but that of Electronic components (MOP610 million) declined by 32.9%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP735 million, up by 34.2%.

By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP17.85 billion) and the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP477 million) decreased by 5.4% and 3.3% respectively year-on-year in the first nine months of 2017, whereas imports from the EU (MOP14.07 billion) increased by 12.3%. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China shrank by 2.3% to MOP8.78 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP8.37 billion) fell by 1.7%. Imports of Consumer goods went up by 11.4% to MOP36.12 billion, with imports of Handbags & wallets (MOP2.49 billion) and Motor cars & motorcycles (MOP1.15 billion) rising by 33.3% and 27.1% respectively. However, value of imports of Mobile phones (MOP2.71 billion) and Construction materials (MOP1.36 billion) declined by 11.3% and 10.6% respectively.

External merchandise trade totalled MOP63.04 billion in the first nine months of 2017, up by 6.0% compared with MOP59.48 billion a year earlier.