Macau's imports in the first eight months of the year decreased by 9.5 percent year on year to 84.73 billion patacas, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) has announced.
According to a DSEC statement on Thursday, food-and-beverage imports dropped by 12.6 percent to 14.22 billion patacas. Food and beverages accounted for 15.2 percent of all imports between January and August, making up Macau's main import segment.
Gold jewellery imports fell by 25.0 percent to 6.91 billion patacas, imports of beauty and cosmetic and skincare products declined by 27.3 percent to 6.37 billion patacas, imports of watches dropped by 26.5 percent to 4.57 billion patacas, and those of mobile phones decreased by 31.2 percent to 2.24 billion patacas.
Macau's main suppliers of imports in the first eight months were the Chinese mainland (29.5 percent of total imports), France (13.2 percent) and Italy (12.4 percent).
Exports rose by 7.1 percent to 8.94 billion patacas, resulting in a merchandise trade deficit of 75.79 billion patacas. Re-exports accounted for 88.9 percent of all exports. Some 70.2 percent of Macau's exports went to Hong Kong, while a mere 1.6 percent were shipped to the 27-nation European Union.
The Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is a free port and separate customs territory of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is a founder member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and member of the World Customs Organisation (WCO). A major part of Macau's imported retail goods are bought by tourists, those from mainland China in particular.
