Hong Kong Trade Deficit Largest Since 2023

Hong Kong recorded a trade deficit of $14.1 billion in January 2026, swinging from a surplus of $2.1 billion in the same month a year earlier. Imports surged 38.1% year-on-year to $534.7 billion, primarily driven by higher purchases of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (44.8%), as well as telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (80%). Imports rose the most from Mainland China (46.6%), Taiwan (3.3%), and Singapore (42.8%). Meanwhile, exports soared 33.8% year-on-year to a new record high of $520.6 billion, largely driven by increased sales of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (39.4%), along with telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (51.9%). Exports recorded the largest gains to Mainland China (40.6%), the US (23.3%), Taiwan (88.8%), and Vietnam (31.0%).

Hong Kong’s trade deficit widened sharply to $63.25 billion in December 2025, from $34.5 billion in the same month a year earlier, marking the largest trade gap since September 2023. Imports surged 30.6% year-on-year to an all-time high of $576.05 billion, mainly driven by higher purchases of electrical machinery, apparatus, and appliances, and electrical parts (27.9%), and telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing equipment (59.6%). Imports rose the most from China (33.9%), Taiwan (30.8%), and Singapore (17.2%). Meanwhile, exports increased 26.1% year-on-year to a record peak of $512.8 billion, supported by higher shipments of electrical machinery and parts (30.7%) and telecommunications and sound recording equipment (46.8%). Exports recorded the largest gains to China (24.9%), the US (47.5%), and Vietnam (29.4%). For the full year of 2025, Hong Kong’s trade deficit reached $446.6 billion, with exports rising 15.4% and imports increasing 15.5%.

Hong Kong's trade deficit widened to $48.5 billion in November 2025, from $43.4 billion in the same month of the previous year. Exports rose 18.8% year-on-year to $468.9 billion, mainly driven by higher sales of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (+15.9%) and telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (+36.8%). Exports rose the most to US (+44.4%), Malaysia (+72.0%), Vietnam (+54.9%), and Netherlands (+36.4%). Meanwhile, imports grew 18.1% to $517.4 billion, mainly due to increased purchases of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (+16.9%) and telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (+34.3%). Imports increased the most from Vietnam (+102.3%), Malaysia (+21.5%) and the US (+17.8%). For the first eleven months of the year, the cumulative trade deficit reached $382.8 billion, with exports rising by 14.3% and imports growing by 14.1%.