Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total exports of goods amounted to MOP635 million in November 2009, down by 40.4% year-on-year, with the value of domestic exports falling by 65.4% to MOP195 million and that of re-exports dropping by 12.5% to MOP440 million. The value of total imports of goods registered an increase for the first time in 2009, up slightly by 0.4% to MOP3.41 billion, attributable to a 42.0% surge of the consumer durables, namely jewellery, watches and etc.. A trade deficit of MOP2.78 billion was recorded for November 2009.

From January to November 2009, total value of merchandise exports fell by 53.7% year-on-year to MOP6.99 billion, of which the value of domestic exports and re-exports declined by 69.5% and 30.1% respectively; meanwhile, total value of merchandise imports slid by 16.9% to MOP33.03 billion. The trade deficit for the first eleven months of 2009 widened by 5.6% year-on-year to MOP26.04 billion; the exports/imports ratio went down by 16.8 percentage points year-on-year to 21.2%.

Analyzed by destination of Macao’s exports, in the first eleven months of 2009, the value of merchandise exports to the USA, the EU and Mainland China decreased by 79.6%, 60.1% and 44.5% respectively year-on-year. The value of Textile & garment exports declined by 73.1% year-on-year to account for 33.4% of the total exports of goods; meanwhile, the value of Non-textile exports dropped by 27.5%.

Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, the value of merchandise imports from Mainland China dropped by 35.2% year-on-year, but that from the EU rose by 8.8%. The value of imports by Broad Economic Category registered year-on-year decrease, of which Raw materials & semi-manufactures and Fuels & lubricants fell by 39.1% and 24.0% respectively; meanwhile, the value of imports of Consumer goods recorded a mild decrease of 2.5%, with that of Food & beverages rising by 17.3%.