The value of Hong Kong's exports fell 3% year-on-year in July

Financial News

Written by: Zhang Weilun

2020-08-26 19:30

The government announced the import and export data for July. The value of exports and imports fell 3% and 3.4% year-on-year respectively.

In July, the total export value of Hong Kong was 328.5 billion yuan, down 3% year-on-year; the value of imports was 358.3 billion yuan, down 3.4% year-on-year, and the visible trade deficit was 29.8 billion yuan.

In the first seven months of this year, the overall export value fell 6.3% year-on-year, the value of merchandise imports fell 8.5%, and the visible trade deficit was RMB 205.3 billion.

The government pointed out that in July this year, the value of total exports to Asia increased by 0.6%, of which the value of exports to the Mainland increased by 5.2% and the value of exports to Vietnam increased by 4.4%. As for the value of exports to the Philippines fell by 21.3%, India fell by 20.5%, and the value of exports to the United States and the United Kingdom fell by 20.2% and 19.9%.

The government also pointed out that in July, the value of imports from the United States, Japan and the Mainland fell by 22.4%, 18.3% and 8.1% year-on-year respectively, while the value of imports from Malaysia and Singapore increased by 21.1% and 13.8% respectively.

A government spokesman said that commodity exports remained weak in July, falling by 3% year-on-year in terms of value. Due to weak external demand, exports to the United States, the European Union and many other major Asian markets fell further year-on-year. At the same time, exports to the mainland continued to see moderate growth along with the steady recovery of the local economy.

Looking to the future, the threat of COVID-19 will still exist before effective vaccines or treatments are widely used. The weak global economy and tensions in Sino-US relations will continue to haunt the short-term prospects of Hong Kong's merchandise exports. The government will closely monitor relevant developments.

Import and export data