HK's Total Exports, Imports up in December, 2009

The value of Hong Kong's total goods exports and imports recorded year-on-year increases in December, the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said on Tuesday.

Comprising re-exports and domestic exports, the value of total exports rose 9.2 percent to 224.8 billion HK dollars (about 29.0 billion U.S. dollars) compared with the same period in 2008.

The value of re-exports grew 9.7 percent to 219.7 billion HK dollars (about 28.3 billion U.S. dollars) while the value of domestic exports dropped 7 percent to 5.2 billion HK dollars.

The value of goods imports grew 18.7 percent over a year earlier to 258.3 billion HK dollars. A visible trade deficit of 33.4 billion HK dollars, equivalent to 12.9 percent of the value of goods imports, was recorded.

The department said merchandise exports rebounded notably further in December, supported mainly by a revival in intraregional trade. The U.S. and EU markets, while showing some relative improvement, were still rather slow in recovery.

The ongoing global economic recovery at a slow and uneven pace, should continue to be conducive to world trade and hence Hong Kong 's trade performance in the near term, yet the sustainability of growth in the advanced economies is still a concern, continuing to pose some risk to the external trading environment, the department said.

For 2009 as a whole, the value of total goods exports dropped 12.6 percent over 2008. The value of re-exports fell 11.8 percent, while the value of domestic exports dropped 36.4 percent. The value of goods imports dropped 11 percent. A visible trade deficit of 223.3 billion HK dollars, equivalent to 8.3 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded.