Hong Kong's external trade records decrease in July

HONG KONG, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's goods exports and imports registered decreases in July against a worsening external environment and continued disruptions to cross-boundary land transportation, official data showed Thursday.

The values of Hong Kong's total exports and imports of goods both recorded year-on-year decreases, at 8.9 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively, according to the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The value of total exports of goods decreased to 379.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 48.38 billion U.S. dollars) in July, after a year-on-year decrease of 6.4 percent in June, while the value of imports of goods decreased to 407.2 billion Hong Kong dollars.

In July, exports to the Chinese mainland, the United States and the European Union showed widened declines, while those to other major Asian markets saw mixed performance, said a spokesperson for the HKSAR government.

For the first seven months of 2022 as a whole, the value of total exports of goods dropped by 1.0 percent over the same period in 2021. Concurrently, the value of imports of goods increased by 0.2 percent, the data showed.

A visible trade deficit of 234.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to 8.0 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in the first seven months of 2022.

"Looking forward, Hong Kong's export performance will continue to be dragged by the weakening global growth momentum. Aggressive monetary policy tightening in advanced economies to curb inflation will weigh on global demand. Heightened geopolitical tensions and pandemic-induced supply-chain disruptions also add to the headwinds," said the spokesperson. (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.85 Hong Kong dollars)