The value of Hong Kong’s total exports jumped 35.8 percent year-on-year in March on the back of strong global demand for AI-related electronic products, official data showed on Tuesday.

The value of the city’s total exports of goods increased to HK$618.4 billion ($78.9 billion) in March after rising 24.7 percent in February, while imports also surged 41.2 percent year-on-year to HK$707.5 billion last month, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

A visible trade deficit of HK$89.1 billion, equivalent to 12.6 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in March, it added.

A Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government spokesman said merchandise exports continued to perform well last month amid the robust global demand for AI-related electronic products, with exports to most markets recording strong growth.

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Exports of "electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof" jumped 47.9 percent year-on-year in March while "telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment" surged 94.7 percent.

For the first quarter of 2026, the value of total exports of goods increased by 32.0 percent year-on-year while imports increased by 37 percent. A visible trade deficit of HK$168.4 billion, equivalent to 9.8 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded during the period.

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Total exports to Asia as a whole grew by 37.8 percent year-on-year in March. Increases were registered in the values of total exports to most major destinations, in particular Singapore (125.0 percent), Malaysia (62.3 percent), Thailand (61.7 percent), Taiwan region (50.9 percent) and the Chinese mainland (39.5 percent), it added.

Looking ahead, heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have led to an upsurge in international energy prices, posing a downside risk to the near-term global economic outlook, with potential disruptions to global trade flows and supply chains, the HKSAR government spokesman said.

Nevertheless, global demand for AI-related electronic products remains robust and should provide strong support to the performance of Hong Kong’s merchandise exports, he added.