Hato also impacts merchandise

Information released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) reveals that total merchandise exports amounted to MOP805 million in August, down 17.2 per cent year-on-year. The value of exports (MOP112 million) slid by 50.2 per cent, with tobacco plummeting 56.8 per cent. Also, Electronic components re-exports nosedived 72.5 per cent year-on-year.
Merchandise imports decreased by 4.3 per cent year-on-year to MOP6.33 billion, of which imports of Watches and Gold jewellery fell by 22.6 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively. The merchandise trade deficit in August amounted to MOP5.53 billion, according to DSEC.
From January to August the total value of merchandise exports increased by 9 per cent year-on-year to MOP7.54 billion, of which the value of re-exports (MOP6.38 billion) rose 12.7 per cent, while that of domestic exports (MOP1.15 billion) decreased by 7.9 per cent.
The total value of merchandise imports grew by 4.1 per cent year-on-year to MOP47.41 billion. The merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP39.87 billion for the first eight months of 2017, said the DSEC.
Exports to Mainland China increased by 17.6 per cent year-on-year to MOP1.42 billion in the first eight months of 2017. Exports to Hong Kong (MOP4.48 billion), the European Union (MOP122 million) and the U.S. (MOP111 million) rose by 14.3 per cent, 0.1 per cent and 14.3 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, exports to Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP0.7 million) plunged 87.9 per cent year-on-year, according to official data.
DSEC also indicated that merchandise imports from Mainland China (MOP15.55 billion) and Portuguese-speaking Countries (MOP418 million) decreased by 5.8 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, year-on-year in the first eight months of 2017 whereas imports from the European Union (MOP12.33 billion) increased by 11.3 per cent.
External merchandise trade totalled MOP54.95 billion in the first eight months of 2017, up 4.8 per cent compared with MOP52.45 billion a year earlier, DSEC data showed.