The values of Hong Kong's total exports and imports of goods recorded year-on-year decreases at 22.7 percent and 16.4 percent respectively in January 2020, showed the statistics published on Tuesday by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, reports Xinhua.
According to the external merchandise trade statistics released by the HKSAR government's Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), in January 2020, the value of total exports of goods decreased by 22.7 percent over a year earlier to 269.4 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 34.59 billion U.S. dollars), after a year-on-year increase of 3.3 percent in December 2019.
Concurrently, the value of imports of goods decreased by 16.4 percent over a year earlier to 300.0 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 38.51 billion U.S. dollars) in January 2020, after a year-on-year decrease of 1.9 percent in December 2019. A visible trade deficit of 30.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 3.93 billion U.S. dollars), equivalent to 10.2 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in January 2020.
Comparing the three-month period ending January 2020 with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of total exports of goods decreased by 4.4 percent. Meanwhile, the value of imports of goods decreased by 2.2 percent. A spokesman of the HKSAR government pointed out that the global economic recovery is still fragile and fraught with uncertainties. "Hong Kong's merchandise exports will face a very austere external trading environment in the coming few months. The government will continue to monitor the situation closely," added the spokesman.