Exports of goods decreased by 1.8 percent over a year earlier to HKD 313.7 billion, after an increase of 3.6 percent in September 2016. Exports to Asia as a whole went down by 0.9 percent, mainly to Thailand (-12.7 percent), Japan (-11 percent), Vietnam (-7 percent), India (-3.8 percent) and Korea (-3.4 percent). On the other hand, sales rose to Taiwan (+18.2 percent) and Singapore (+3.9 percent). Total exports to China remained virtually unchanged. Apart from destinations in Asia, decreases were also registered to Germany (-15.3 percent) and the United Kingdom (-13.5 percent). Concurrently, an increase was registered in the value of total exports to the US (+0.3 percent).
By commodity, exports declined for: Telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (-11 percent); non-metallic mineral manufactures (-16.1 percent); and miscellaneous manufactured articles, mainly jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares (-12 percent). However, an increase was registered in electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (+12.5 percent).
Imports of goods increased by 0.5 percent to HKD 350.9 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 4.1 percent the previous month. Increases were registered in the values of imports from some major suppliers, in particular Korea (+39.7 percent), India (+38.2 percent), the US (+11.7 percent), the Philippines (+10.4 percent) and Singapore (+9.9 percent). Concurrently, decreases were registered in the values of imports from China (-8 percent) and Japan (-6.7 percent).
By commodity, imports went up for: Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (+9.8 percent); and non-metallic mineral manufactures (+17.2 percent). However, decreases were registered in the values of imports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (-9.3 percent); and miscellaneous manufactured articles, mainly jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares (-13.1 percent).
For the first ten months of 2016 as a whole, there was a trade deficit of HKD 341 billion. Exports dropped by 2.5 percent over the same period in 2015, in particular to Vietnam (-8 percent), Japan (-6.1 percent), Germany (-5.1 percent), the US (-4.9 percent), Korea (-3.6 percent) and China (-2.3 percent); and imports decreased by 2.9 percent, as purchases decreased to Japan (-8.5 percent), the US (-4.9 percent), Malaysia (-4.7 percent) and the Mainland (-4.6 percent).