Total volume of exports of goods from Hong Kong in May 2016 increased by 3.2% year-on-year, of which re-exports rose 3.5%, while domestic exports fell 15.7%, according to the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD). The volume of imported goods dropped by 1.4% year-on-year.
Overall export prices declined by 3.0% year-on-year, as prices of re-exports went down by 3.0%, and those of domestic exports pulled back by 1.9%. For the same month, prices of goods imports decreased by 2.9%.
On exports to trade partners, Hong Kong registered significant volume growth to India and Taiwan of 44.6% and 28.5%, respectively, year-on-year, said C&SD. Aggregate exports to China increased by 4.9% in the same period. Shipments to the U.S. and Japan decreased by 3.1% and 7.3%, respectively.
In the same month, total export prices to all main destinations decreased year-over-year: Taiwan (-4.8%), India (-4.7%), China (-3.6%), U.S. (-2.6%), and Japan (-0.4%).
Comparing May 2016 and May 2015, double-digit declines were recorded for the import volume from the U.S. (-13.1%), Singapore (-12.4%), and Japan (-10.6%). Concurrently, the import volume from China decreased marginally, by 0.1%, while that from Taiwan increased by 1.2%.
Over the same period of comparison, import prices from Japan, U.S., China, and Taiwan decreased by 4.2%, 3.6%, 3.5%, and 0.6%, respectively. On the other hand, the import prices from Singapore increased marginally, by 0.1%.
In the three-month period ending May 2016, total exports of goods increased by 3.1% as against the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis. Of this total, re-exports saw a spike of 3.2%, whereas domestic exports deflated by 7.8%. The volume of imports of goods moved up by 1.6% in the same period.
In the first five months of the year, overall exports of goods contracted 1.9% in volume against the same period in 2015. Of the total, re-exports dialed down by 1.7%, while domestic exports shrank by 13.8%. Concurrently, imports of goods were down by 4.1%.
From January to May of this year, prices of combined exports recorded a 2.5% decline in comparison to the same period in 2015. Re-exports decreased in price by 2.5%, while domestic exports slid back by 2.9%. On the other hand, the prices of imports of goods were 2.6% lower than in the preceding year.
Photo: Lichunngai
