Exports down 2.4% in May

Total good exports fell 2.5% for the first five months of the year.

Hong Kong’s exports extended their steep decline after falling 2.4% YoY in May, on the back of a five-month decrease in the exports of some principal commodity divisions, data from the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) revealed. The value of Hong Kong's total imports of goods also recorded a 4.3% YoY dip.

Also read: Hong Kong exports down 3% in March

For the first five months of 2019, the value of total exports of goods dropped 2.5% over the same period in 2018.

CS&D noted that there was a decrease in the value of total exports of some principal commodity divisions, in particular office machines and automatic data processing machines ($22.1b), electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof ($15.6b) and miscellaneous manufactured articles mainly jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares ($5b).  “However, an increase was registered in the value of total exports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment by $12.6b,” the agency said.

Meanwhile, the value of imports of goods fell 3.8% YoY. A visible trade deficit of $188.8b, equivalent to 10.6% of the value of imports of goods was recorded in the first five months of 2019.

Data showed that decreases were accounted in the values of imports of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof by $49.7b, office machines and automatic data processing machines by $17.3b and non-metallic mineral manufactures by $5b. However, there was an increase in the value of imports of power generating machinery and equipment by $5.8b.