Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for June 2017 amounted to MOP938 million, up by 14.3% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP787 million) increased by 17.0%, with that of Machines, apparatus & parts (MOP224 million) surging by 221.6%, and value of domestic exports (MOP151 million) rose by 2.3%. Total merchandise import went up by 10.4% year-on-year to MOP6.17 billion, of which imports of Motor cars & motorcycles and Watches expanded by 96.1% and 51.8% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP5.24 billion.

In the second quarter of 2017, total value of merchandise export (MOP2.67 billion) and merchandise import (MOP17.23 billion) grew by 10.8% and 5.3% respectively year-on-year, resulting in a trade deficit of MOP14.56 billion.

In the first half of 2017, total value of merchandise export increased by 9.8% year-on-year to MOP5.62 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP4.73 billion) and domestic exports (MOP885 million) rose by 10.8% and 5.1% respectively. Total value of merchandise import grew by 5.6% year-on-year to MOP35.12 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP29.50 billion for the first half of 2017.

Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Mainland China increased by 2.3% year-on-year to MOP917 million in the first half of 2017, of which exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP870 million) grew by 2.3%. Furthermore, exports to Hong Kong (MOP3.50 billion), the EU (MOP100 million) and the USA (MOP95 million) rose by 16.8%, 8.7% and 26.8% respectively. Meanwhile, exports to the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP0.7 million) dropped by 87.8% year-on-year. Exports of Non-textiles went up by 11.1% year-on-year to MOP5.28 billion, of which value of Diamond & diamond jewellery (MOP444 million) expanded by 35.9%, but that of Electronic components (MOP476 million) declined by 18.1%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP335 million, down by 7.0%.

By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP11.51 billion) and the Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP306 million) decreased by 6.7% and 3.3% respectively year-on-year in the first half of 2017, whereas imports from the EU (MOP9.07 billion) increased by 14.8%. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China fell by 0.5% to MOP5.55 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP5.29 billion) dropped by 0.2%. Imports of Consumer goods went up by 14.2% to MOP23.47 billion, with imports of Gold jewellery (MOP3.20 billion) and Watches (MOP2.57 billion) rising by 30.0% and 39.6% respectively. However, value of imports of Mobile phones (MOP1.91 billion) and Construction materials (MOP885 million) slid by 17.3% and 16.9% respectively.

External merchandise trade totalled 40.73 billion in the first half of 2017, up by 6.1% compared with MOP38.37 billion a year earlier.