Exports up 8.1% to $330.2b in April

Trade volumes to traditional trade partners like Taiwan, Singapore, and China rose.

Hong Kong’s goods exports rose for the fourth time this year after growing 8.1% YoY to $330.2b in April amidst robust global demand, according to external merchandise trade statistics released by the Census & Statistics Department.

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Export volumes to Taiwan buoyed monthly trade figures after rising by 27.8% in April. Trade values for major regional destinations like Singapore, the Mainland, Thailand and Malaysia also rose by 15%, 12.9%, 12.6% and 10.4% respectively, buoying overall trade in Asia to rise by 7.2%.

Strong demand from regional peers as well as to major destinations in other regions like the US, Germany and UK was able to offset a massive decline of exports to India which plunged 49.5% over the same period.

The exports of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances and electrical parts registered the largest monthly increase after growing 18.3% to $19.3b. Exports of office machines and automatic data processing machines also went up 17.3% to $5.3b along with jewellery, goldsmiths and silversmiths wares which surged 31.5% to $5b over the same period.

Imports also rose 11.1% YoY to $377.2b in April with volumes to major suppliers like Malaysia ballooning by 93.2%. Import levels from regional trade partners like Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan and the Mainland also rose 26.3%, 23.8%, 17.2%, 10.5% and 9.6% offsetting a decline in the India and Singapore markets.