China trade flow via Hong Kong declines as city set to report worst exports in a decade
- Hong Kong Trade Development Council has forecast a 4 per cent drop in the city’s exports this year, the worst performance since 2009
- Customs data showed mainland exports to Hong Kong fell steadily in June, July and August amid trade war and protests
Hong Kong’s trade promotion body said on Monday the city’s exports this year would suffer their largest decline in a decade due to the impact of the ongoing trade war between China and the United States.
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council predicted that the city’s exports would shrink 4 per cent by value, the worst performance since 2009 when they plunged 12.6 per cent during the depth of the global financial crisis. The forecast marked a significant downgrading of a previous prediction that exports would grow 2 per cent in 2019.
The outlook came on the same day China’s Customs Administration published a detailed breakdown of trade data showing that shipments from the mainland to Hong Kong fell 7.7 per cent in the first eight months of this year, compared to the same period in 2018 - a faster rate of decline than the 6.3 per cent drop in the first half of the year.
The trade war has not only affected our exports to the US but other markets such as Japan, Taiwan and even Vietnam
In particular, China’s exports have been on the rise to Singapore, up 3.5 per cent this year to date, and Vietnam where they have risen 16.5 per cent, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs in Beijing.