Macau’s external merchandise trade rose by 24.6 percent year-on-year to 82.5
billion patacas (US$10.2 billion) in the first half of the year, the Statistics and
Census Bureau (DSEC) has announced.
According to a DSEC statement yesterday, total exports (comprising domestic and re-exports) grew by 24.0 percent to 8.2 billion patacas, with re-exports accounting for 90.0 percent, while imports increased by 24.6 percent to 74.3 billion patacas, resulting in a merchandise trade deficit of 66.1 billion patacas.
Food and beverage imports, Macau’s top import segment, fell by 8.3 percent to 10.2 billion patacas. Gold jewellery imports grew by 49.2 percent to 8.1 billion patacas. Mobile phone imports increased by 76.2 percent to 2.2 billion patacas.
While 40.8 percent of Macau’s imports originated from the Chinese mainland, 72.7 percent of its exports went to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Jewellery shops and pharmacies are particularly popular with visitors from the Chinese mainland. Macau recorded 20.9 million visitor arrivals in the first half of the year, 72.9 percent of them mainlanders. According to the latest available demographics, Macau's population stood at 688,100 at the end of the first quarter.
The Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is free port and a separate customs territory of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Tourism, including gaming, remains Macau's chief economic driver.
A sales assistant talks to a group of tourists at a pharmacy in Largo do Senado, Macau's main square, last night. - Photo: Carl Leong
