The total amount of merchandise imported to Macau in September went up by 16.5 per cent year-on-year to reach MOP7.23 billion (US$899,09 million) in September, according to the latest information released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).
The value of re-exported goods went up by nearly 42 per cent yearly to MOP835 million, representing 81.8 per cent of the total value of Macau exports in September.
With imports reaching MOP1.02 million in September, marking an increase of 24.6 per cent year-on-year, the city accumulated a trade deficit of MOP6.20 billion.
Trade galore
The total trade of external merchandise trade in the first nine months of this year increased by 6 per cent to MOP63.03 billion, with the trade deficit decreasing 4.3 per cent yearly to MOP45.90 billion.
From January to September, the total value of imports reached MOP54.47 billion, up 5.3 per cent from the same period last year, with food & beverage imports representing the largest sector or 16.1 per cent of the total value.
Imports of food & beverages in the first nine months of this year rose 3.4 per cent year-on-year to MOP8.80 billion, with the second largest imported good, gold jewellery, increasing considerably by 20.7 per cent yearly to MOP4.89 billion.
However, imports of watches to Macau saw the largest yearly increase during the period from the beginning of the year until September, with a 20.8 per cent hike to MOP3.88 billion.
Imports from mainland China represented 32.8 per cent of the total import value in the first nine months, followed by Italy with 9.5 per cent and Hong Kong with 9 per cent.
However, while the total value of imports from mainland China decreased by 5.4 per cent yearly to MOP17.85 billion, the value of imports from the European Union went up by 12.3 per cent to MOP14.06 billion.
Exports to Hong Kong comprised 58.7 per cent of the total export value or MOP5.02 billion from January to September, with mainland China representing the second region of destination at MOP1.62 billion.
Non-textile goods comprised the most valuable export from Macau in the first nine months of the year, going up by nearly 9 per cent to MOP7.82 billion.
