Hong Kong Balance of Trade

Last Release

Aug 31, 2024

Actual

-33,131

Units In

HKD Million

-21,842

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Oct 28, 2024

Time to Release

30 Days 11 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
7,228 Jan 2009	-68,533 Jun 2022	-9,699.25 HKD Million	1952-2024	N/A

Since the late 1990’s Hong Kong has been recording trade deficits, as imports grew at a faster pace than exports. Hong Kong major exports are electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances; telecommunications and sound equipment and automatic data processing machines. The country imports mainly machinery and transport equipment; miscellaneous manufactured articles; manufactured goods and food and live animals. Main trading partner is China (40 percent of total exports and 47 percent of total imports). Others include: Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States.

Latest Updates

Hong Kong's trade deficit increased to $33.1 billion in August 2024 from $25.6 billion in the corresponding month of the previous year, as imports grew more than exports. Year-on-year, imports increased 7.9% to $414.4 billion, primarily attributed to higher purchases of office machines and automatic data processing machines (79.6%), non-ferrous metals (63.8%), and professional scientific and controlling instruments and apparatus (19.4%). Meanwhile, exports rose at a softer 6.4% year-on-year to $381.3 billion, mainly due to increased sales of office machines and automatic data processing machines (43.5%), professional, scientific and controlling instruments and apparatus (18.3%), and power generating machinery and equipment (17.5%). Considering the first eight months of the year, the country’s trade deficit was $216 billion, with exports increasing by 11.5% and imports growing by 8% compared to the same period a year earlier.