Macao's trade deficit for the first seven months of 2009 amounted to 15.48 billion patacas (US$20 billion), with the exports/imports ration dropping by 17 percentage points year-on-year to 22.6 percent, according to the figures released on Monday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

From January to July this year, total value of merchandise exports fell substantially by 55.3 percent year-on-year to 4.53 billion patacas (573 million dollars), of which the value of domestic exports and re-exports declined by 69.5 percent and 31.4 percent respectively, the figures showed.

Analyzed by destination of Macao's exports, the value of merchandise exports to the United States, the EU and the Chinese mainland decreased in the period by 79 percent, 59.6 percent and 44.8 percent respectively year-on-year. The value of textile and garment exports declined by 72 percent year-on-year to account for 37.6 percent of the total exports of goods, and that of non- textile exports dropped by 30 percent.

Meanwhile, total value of merchandise imports slid by 21.8 percent to 20.01 billion patacas (2.53 billion dollars). Value of merchandise imports from the Chinese mainland dropped by 41.9 percent year-on-year, but that from the EU rose by 4.2 percent.

The value of imports by broad economic category registered a year-on-year decrease in the period, of which raw materials and semi-manufactures and fuels and lubricants fell by 43 percent and 29.5 percent respectively, while those of consumer goods recorded a mild decrease of 8.4 percent, according to the DSEC.

(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2009)