Year-on-year, exports went down by 3.5 percent to HKD 315.3 billion from HKD 326.8 billion. Total exports to Asia as a whole went down by 3.1 percent, as sales to Taiwan (-20.2 percent), Korea (-14 percent), Japan (-13.2 percent), Thailand (-11.5 percent) and the Philippines (-8.8 percent) fell the most. The value of total exports to China also decreased by 2 percent. On the other hand, increases were recorded in shipments to India (+13.9 percent) and Vietnam (+11.3 percent). Apart from destinations in Asia, sales to Germany (-7.3 percent) and the US (-5.5 percent) dropped, while those to the UK rose (+7 percent).
Exports of office machines and automatic data processing machines (-13.8 percent); miscellaneous manufactured articles, mainly jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares (-17.9 percent); and photographic apparatus, equipment and supplies, optical goods, watches and clocks (-16.4 percent) fell. However, an increase was registered in the value of total exports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (+7.6 percent).
Imports declined faster by 8.1 percent to HKD 348.4 billion from HKD 379.0 billion in November last year, driven by lower purchases from Switzerland (-28 percent), India (-26.4 percent), Malaysia (-18.2 percent), Korea (-16.2 percent) and Japan (-15.9 percent). The value of imports from China also decreased by 2.9 percent.
Imports of miscellaneous manufactured articles, mainly jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares (-22.6 percent); office machines and automatic data processing machines (-14 percent) and petroleum, petroleum products and related material (-42 percent) decreased. However, an increase was registered in the value of imports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipmen (+1.9 percent).
For the first eleven months of 2015, exports dropped by 1.9 percent over the same period in 2014, and imports decreased by 4.1 percent. The visible trade deficit of HKD 395.4 billion was equivalent to 10.7 percent of the value of imports.