The value of Macao Special Administrative Region's total exports of goods for the first seven months of this year fell by 11.2 percent year-on-year to 10.14 billion patacas ($1.27 billion), according to the figures released by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) on Monday.

The figures showed that the value of domestic exports and re-exports declined by 13.9 percent and 6.1 percent respectively in the period, and the value of textile and garment exports dropped by 17.6 percent year-on-year and its relative importance decreased further to account for 60.1 percent of the total.

The value of non-textile exports grew slightly by 0.7 percent, with exports of machines and apparatus, and footwear dropping by 50.9 percent and 60.4 percent respectively, but exports of image and sound appliances registered an increase of 67.3 percent, according to the DSEC.

In the first seven months of 2008, the value of exports to the United States, the Chinese mainland and the EU decreased by 7 percent, 38.7 percent and 45.3 percent respectively year-on-year, but that to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region rose by 24.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the DSEC said that total imports of goods grew by 7.6 percent to 25.57 billion patacas in the period, and the trade deficit was widened to 15.42 billion patacas.

The main suppliers of imported goods to Macao concentrated in the Asian region. The value of imports from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong amounted to 13.08 billion patacas, accounting for 51.1 percent of the total imports in the first seven months of this year, according to the DSEC.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2008)