Macao’s merchandise imports totalled 11.49 billion patacas (US$1.43 billion) in November, while merchandise exports amounted to 1.15 billion patacas (US$143.7 million), according to the latest published figures from the Statistics and Census Service.
The figures represent respective drops of 7.8 percent and 17.3 percent year-on-year, respectively.
Across the first 11 months of the year, the value of merchandise exports grew to 12.46 billion patacas (US$1.55 billion), a 1.7 percent increase on the same period last year. The total value of merchandise imports, meanwhile, dropped by 9.1 year-on-year to come in at 117.7 billion (US$14.71 billion) for the January to November period.
At the end of November, Macao’s merchandise trade deficit totalled 10.34 billion patacas (US$1.3 billion).
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The value of re-exports totalled 1.04 billion patacas (US$130 million) in November, down by 18.4 percent when compared with the same month last year. Re-exports of casino-related articles slid by 91.4 percent year-on-year, while those of garments and watches surged by 105 and 84.6 percent, respectively.
The value of domestic exports in November dropped by 5.5 percent year-on-year, to 112 million patacas (US$14 million). Garments, pharmaceutical products and organic chemicals grew by 10.4 and 2.4 percent respectively. The value of exported baked goods decreased by 35.5 percent.
In terms of imports, the value of construction materials, perfumes and skincare products dropped by 51.6, 50 and 41.5 percent respectively, when compared with November 2023. Imports of articles for casinos and mobile phones showed respective year-on-year growth of 31.2 and 27.2 percent, respectively.
By destination, merchandise exports to mainland China, Hong Kong (the destination of most of Macao’s exports) and the US dropped by 21.5, 1.1 and 32 percent year-on-year in November. Merchandise exports to the Belt and Road Countries and the European Union expanded by 19.8 and 40.7 percent, respectively.
