Imports rise, exports fall in November

Macao’s imports rose by 56.6 per cent year-on-year to MOP 13.4 billion (US$1.67 billion) in November, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) has announced. 

According to a DSEC statement earlier this week, imports of handbags and wallets increased by 78.6 per cent to MOP 684 million. Imports of watches grew by 44.5 per cent to MOP 725 million, while imports of construction materials rose by 32.1 per cent to MOP 229 million. 

Total merchandise exports decreased by 15.7 per cent year-on-year to MOP 957 million in November. Re-exports accounted for 84.6 per cent of all exports. 

In the first 11 months of 2020, merchandise exports fell by 17.9 per cent to MOP 9.6 billion, while imports dipped 0.5 per cent to MOP 80.79 billion, resulting in a merchandise trade balance deficit of MOP 71.2 billion. 

Most of Macao’s imports between January and November originated from the Chinese mainland (29.4 per cent of the total), France (16.7 per cent) and Japan (11.0 per cent).

 Around 68.5 per cent and 15.4 per cent of all exports were shipped to Hong Kong and mainland China respectively.