The trade deficit of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) for the first nine months of 2008 amounted to 19.88 billion patacas (2.49 billion U.S. dollars), as its exports/imports ratio decreased from 47.5 percent in the same period of last year to 39.3 percent, the SAR's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) announced on Friday.

Between January and September 2008, the value of total exports of goods in Macao fell 13.9 percent year-on-year to 12.89 billion patacas (1.61 billion dollars), with the value of domestic exports and re-exports declining 19.2 percent and 4.1 percent respectively, according to the DSEC figures.

The value of textile and garment exports declined 22.4 percent year-on-year and its relative importance decreased further to account for 58.5 percent of the total exports of goods in the period, while the value of non-textile exports grew 1.7 percent, with exports of image and sound appliances increasing 52.6 percent, while exports of machines, apparatus, parts and accessories, and footwear sharply decreasing 48.5 percent and 63.3 percent respectively.

Macao also saw its value of exports to the United States, the Chinese mainland and the European Union fall 11.6 percent, 37.8 percent and 50.9 percent respectively year-on-year in the period, but that to Hong Kong rose 22.6 percent, the DSEC said.

Meanwhile, total imports of goods grew 3.9 percent to 32.77 billion patacas (4.1 billion dollars) in the period, as the value of imports of fuels and lubricants and consumer goods expanded 22 percent and 19.6 percent respectively year-on-year, but that of raw materials and semi-manufactures and capital goods decreased 18. 2 percent and 5.5 percent respectively, according to the DSEC figures.

The main suppliers of imported goods to Macao still concentrated in the Asian region. The value of imports from the mainland and Hong Kong amounted to 16.59 billion patacas (2.07 billion dollars), accounting for 50.6 percent of the total imports in the period.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2008)