Macao’s gold jewellery imports dropped 64.2 per cent year-on-year to MOP 1.05 billion (US$131.5 million) in the first half of the year, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced today.
Imports of watches declined 56.2 per cent to MOP 1.41 billion. Mobile phone imports declined 54.8 per cent to MOP 1.08 billion.
Gold jewellery, watches and mobile phones are popular with shoppers from the Chinese mainland. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitor arrivals from the mainland has fallen drastically since early this year.
Macao’s merchandise exports fell 19.5 per cent to MOP 5.15 billion in the first sixth months of the year. Re-exports accounted for 86.5 per cent of all exports.
Imports dropped 29.2 per cent to MOP 29.65 billion, resulting in a merchandise trade deficit of MOP 24.5 billion.
Food and beverages continued to be Macao’s number-one import items, falling 25.9 per cent year-on-year to MOP 4.87 billion between January and June.
In the first half, 36.6 per cent of Macao’s imports originated from mainland China, while 64.5 per cent of its exports went to Hong Kong.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
PHOTO © Financial Times
