Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total merchandise export for May 2016 amounted to MOP832 million, down by 5.1% year-on-year; value of re-exports (MOP678 million) and domestic exports (MOP154 million) declined by 5.6% and 3.2% respectively. Total merchandise import decreased by 21.0% year-on-year to MOP5.40 billion, of which imports of Motor cars and Watches dropped by 49.7% and 48.9% respectively. Merchandise trade deficit amounted to MOP4.57 billion.

In the first five months of 2016, total value of merchandise export declined by 5.5% year-on-year to MOP4.28 billion, of which value of re-exports (MOP3.60 billion) and domestic exports (MOP688 million) decreased by 3.8% and 13.6% respectively. Total value of merchandise import fell by 21.9% to MOP28.04 billion. Merchandise trade deficit widened to MOP23.75 billion for the first five months of 2016.

Analysed by destination, merchandise export to Mainland China increased by 5.6% year-on-year to MOP711 million in the first five months of 2016, of which exports to the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP676 million) rose by 4.5%; exports to Hong Kong (MOP2.56 billion) decreased by 9.2%. Meanwhile, exports to the EU (MOP79 million) and the USA (MOP62 million) reduced by 28.5% and 24.3% respectively. Exports of Non-textiles declined by 6.0% year-on-year to MOP3.96 billion, of which value of Clocks & watches (MOP472 million) dropped by 31.5% but that of Electronic components (MOP451 million) grew by 50.9%. Exports of Textiles & garments totalled MOP323 million, up slightly by 0.6%.

By place of origin, merchandise import from Mainland China (MOP10.34 billion) and the EU (MOP6.53 billion) in the first five months of 2016 decreased by 22.4% and 20.5% respectively year-on-year. Analysed by place of consignment, merchandise import from Mainland China declined by 9.9% to MOP4.53 billion, of which imports from the nine provinces of the Pan Pearl River Delta (MOP4.30 billion) fell by 10.0%. Imports of Consumer goods dropped by 17.4% to MOP17.42 billion, with imports of Watches (MOP1.65 billion) and Motor cars & motorcycles (MOP529 million) decreasing by 42.3% and 53.0% respectively. Moreover, imports of Fuels & lubricants (MOP2.29 billion), Mobile phones (MOP1.98 billion) and Construction materials (MOP894 million) declined by 18.8%, 50.5% and 31.9% respectively.

External merchandise trade totalled MOP32.32 billion in the first five months of 2016, down by 20.1% compared with MOP40.43 billion a year earlier.