This Aug 2, 2023 photo shows part of the dock complex at Kwai Tsing in Hong Kong. (SHAMIM ASHRAF / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s external trade recorded a significant year-on-year increase in November with exports to the Chinese mainland and the United States rising.

During the month, the values of the city’s total exports and imports of goods recorded 7.4 percent and 7.1 percent increase year-on-year respectively, data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Thursday showed.

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Last month, the value of total exports of goods – including some principal commodity divisions in particular electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts – increased by 7.4 percent over a year earlier to HK$386.6 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 1.4 percent in October. 

A government spokesman attributed the increase in the value of merchandise exports to a low base of comparison

Concurrently, the value of imports of goods – electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, electrical parts and power generating machinery and equipment – increased by 7.1 percent over a year earlier to HK$414.6 billion during the month, after a year-on-year rise of 2.6 percent in the previous month. 

A visible trade deficit of HK$27.9 billion, which is equivalent to 6.7 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in November, according to the department.

For the first 11 months of 2023 as a whole, the value of total exports of goods decreased by 9.4 percent over the same period in 2022. 

Concurrently, the value of imports of goods decreased by 7.3 percent. A visible trade deficit of HK$407.9 billion, equivalent to 9.7 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in the first 11 months of this year.

Comparing the three-month period ending November 2023 with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of total exports of goods increased by 5.1 percent, while the value of imports of goods increased by 5.5 percent.

Comparing November 2023 with November 2022, total exports to Asia as a whole grew by 12.2 percent, with export increases to Thailand, India, the mainland and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, increases were seen in import from Vietnam, Singapore, the mainland, Japan and the US.

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A government spokesman attributed the increase in the value of merchandise exports to a low base of comparison. 

Looking ahead, the spokesman said the challenging external environment amid heightened geopolitical tensions and tight financial conditions will continue to weigh on Hong Kong's export performance in the near term.