Macao's trade deficit widens by 17 pct in first three quarters

Macao's trade deficit for the first three quarters of 2012 widened by 17 percent year-on-year to 46.31 billion patacas (5.8 billion U.S. dollars), according to figures released on Wednesday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). From January to September, external merchandise trade amounted to 58.60 billion patacas (7.3 billion dollars), up 18.5 percent, the figures indicated. The total value of merchandise export increased by 21.6 percent year-on-year to 6.14 billion patacas (769.1 million dollars), while that of import grew by 18.1 percent to 52.45 billion patacas (6.6 billion dollars). Analyzed by the destination of exports, the value of merchandise export to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland increased by 45.1 percent and 21.1 percent respectively year-on-year. Meanwhile, the value of merchandise export to the United States and the European Union decreased by 10.4 percent and 17.1 percent respectively. Exports of textile and garment amounted to 812 million patacas (101.7 million dollars), downsubstantially by 22.7 percent year- on-year. The value of non-textile exports expanded by 33.2 percent to 5.33 billion patacas (667.7 million dollars) in the period. Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, the value of merchandise import from the Chinese mainland and the European Union expanded by 23.9 percent and 12.3 percent respectively year- on-year, according to the DSEC.