Hong Kong exports continued to fall significantly in April — down 3.7 percent year-on-year amid escalating Sino-US trade tensions and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The year-on-year drop, together with a 6.7 percent decrease in the value of imports of goods, resulted in a trade deficit of HK$23.3 billion ($3.01 billion) in April, the Census and Statistics Department said on Monday.
While exports to Chinese mainland increased visibly, exports to the US and the EU continued to record double-digit falls as the coronavirus situation remained serious in these markets
HKSAR government spokesman
Over the first four months of the year, the Asia’s financial center recorded a trade deficit of HK$127.3 billion.
Compared with a year-on-year decline of 5.8 percent in exports in March, the rate of decline narrowed slightly in April, a government spokesman said.
READ MORE: HK services sector to gain more access to mainland from June 1
“While exports to Chinese mainland increased visibly, exports to the US and the EU continued to record double-digit falls as the coronavirus situation remained serious in these markets,” he said.
In April, the value of total exports to mainland rose 9.4 percent year-on-year, while exports to the US and Germany registered a decrease of 24.6 percent and 19.6 percent, respectively.
For the first four months of 2020, exports to the US and Germany tumbled by 26.6 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively, while exports to mainland rose 1.2 percent year-on-year.
“Looking ahead, the global economy will remain sluggish until the coronavirus pandemic is well contained. Hong Kong's merchandise export performance is thus expected to remain under pressure in the near term,” the government spokesman warned.
ALSO READ: Hong Kong's first quarter exports decline 9.7% year on year
Samuel Tse, an economist at DBS, said the chilling effect of the global coronavirus pandemic on Hong Kong’s exports had not yet been fully felt.
He expects the value of total exports in the second quarter to slide 5 percent to 10 percent compared with the previous year.
Since April, the coronavirus has had a devastating effect on the US and many countries in Europe.
