According to government data, growth in retail receipts has fallen to its lowest rate since 2004 – a slowdown in the year-on-year growth to only 4.3 percent, which amounts to a total of MOP 68.75 billion.
The authorities suggested that the reason for this change might be a slowdown in visitor spending. Information released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) reported there were 6,464 retail establishments in 2014, up by 413 from the previous year.
Receipts from the retail sale of watches, clocks & jewelry fell by 11.5 percent (MOP18.56 billion), while sales of goods in department stores (MOP11.4 billion), leather articles (MOP8.35 billion), adults’ clothing (MOP7.05 billion) and goods in supermarkets (MOP4.75 billion) rose by 2.9 percent, 12.1 percent, 9.7 percent, and 11 percent respectively.
The number of wholesale establishments rose by 326 year-on-year, to a total of 4,948, of which receipts increased by 27.9 percent to MOP36.57 billion. According to each sector, the wholesale of food rose by 21.4 percent to MOP11.21 billion, while that of electrical appliances, medicine and hygiene products rose by 13 percent to MOP6.54 billion, and the wholesale of fuels soared by 32 percent to MOP6.54 billion.
The total receipts of Wholesale & Retail Trade amounted to MOP114.48 billion in 2014, up by 10.3 percent year-on-year. Expenditure increased by 13.1 percent to MOP104.02 billion, while gross surplus fell by 1.4 percent year-on-year, totaling MOP14.22 billion. Meanwhile, gross value added, which measures the sectoral contribution to the economy, rose by 5.4 percent to MOP21.92 billion.
In 2014, a total of 14,022 Wholesale & Retail establishments, market stalls and fixed stalls on the street were operating, up by 750 year-on-year. The total number of persons engaged in the operation of these establishments was 61,601, up by 13.2 percent, of which employees (47,717) accounted for 77.5 percent.
(macaunews/macaudailytimes)
