Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total exports of goods amounted to MOP570 million in May 2009, down by 65.7% year-on-year, with the value of domestic exports falling sharply by 75.2% to MOP242 million and that of re-exports dropping by 52.1% to MOP328 million. The value of total imports of goods amounted to MOP2.84 billion, down by 22.1% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP2.27 billion was recorded for May 2009.

From January to May 2009, total exports of goods fell by 53.3% year-on-year to MOP3.28 billion, with the value of domestic exports and re-exports declining by 67.5% and 29.9% respectively. Meanwhile, total imports of goods slid by 21.6% to MOP13.99 billion, and the trade deficit for the first five months of 2009 narrowed by 1.0% to MOP10.71 billion. The exports/imports ratio went down by 15.9 percentage points year-on-year to 23.4%.

Analysed by destination of Macao’s exports, in the first five months of 2009, the value of merchandise exports to the USA, the EU and Mainland China decreased by 76.2%, 58.4% and 42.7% respectively year-on-year. The value of Textile & garment exports declined by 69.3% year-on-year to account for 38.9% of the total exports of goods; meanwhile, the value of Non-textile exports dropped by 30.1%.

Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, the value of imports from Mainland China dropped by 43.0% year-on-year, but that from the EU rose by 5.6%. The value of imports of all broad economic categories registered year-on-year decreases, of which Raw materials & semi-manufactures dropped by 45.2% and Fuels & lubricants fell by 26.0%; meanwhile, the value of imports of Consumer goods recorded a slower decrease of 7.2%, with that of Food & beverages rising by 10.0%.