Macau’s gold jewellery imports rose by 4,814 percent year-on-year to 1.29 billion patacas in April, the Statistics and Census Bureau announced yesterday.
In the first four months of the year, gold jewellery imports increased by 270 percent to 3.26 billion patacas.
Imports of handbags and wallets rose by 1,165 percent to 970 million patacas in April. They rose by 268 percent to 3.53 billion patacas in the first four months.
Imports of beauty, cosmetic and skincare products grew by 1,237 percent to 2.48 billion patacas in April. In the first four months they rose by 271 percent to 5.57 billion patacas. Beauty, cosmetic and skincare products topped Macau’s list of import items both in April and in the first four months.
Total imports rose by 265 percent to 13.7 billion patacas in April, when total exports amounted to 1.06 billion patacas, up by 71.9 percent year-on-year. In the first four months, imports rose by 116 percent to 43.4 billion patacas, while exports increased by 24.8 percent to 4.5 billion patacas.
Re-exports accounted for 85.5 percent of total exports in April.
Macau’s retail sector, which depends heavily on tourists, was severely affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, in the first half in particular.
