Hong Kong reported a 4.9 per cent drop in the value of jewellery exports in 2019 largely due to last year’s string of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties. December figures alone were down 5.5 per cent, data from the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong showed.
Overall exports in 2019 fell by 4.1 per cent, the steepest annual decline since 2009, according to the government. Shipments in December however resumed a modest year-on-year growth of 3.3 per cent owing to increased exports to China upon a low base of comparison. Exports to major economies remained subdued while those to Asia were mixed.
Lingering trade disputes among major economies, elevated geopolitical tensions and the development of Brexit meanwhile may still affect Hong Kong’s export sector in the near term.
“Particular attention should also be paid to the development of the novel coronavirus infection as it may weigh on economic performance of some Asian economies and disrupt economic activities in Hong Kong,” the government noted.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
Overall exports in 2019 fell by 4.1 per cent, the steepest annual decline since 2009, according to the government. Shipments in December however resumed a modest year-on-year growth of 3.3 per cent owing to increased exports to China upon a low base of comparison. Exports to major economies remained subdued while those to Asia were mixed.
Lingering trade disputes among major economies, elevated geopolitical tensions and the development of Brexit meanwhile may still affect Hong Kong’s export sector in the near term.
“Particular attention should also be paid to the development of the novel coronavirus infection as it may weigh on economic performance of some Asian economies and disrupt economic activities in Hong Kong,” the government noted.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
