External Merchandise Trade Tender

The Census and Statistics Department CSD released today October 28 the external merchandise trade statistics for September 2026 In September 2026 the values of Hong Kongs total exports and imports of goods both recorded yearonyear increases at 649 and 578 respectively

In September 2026 the value of total exports of goods increased by 649 over a year earlier to 7626 billion after a yearonyear increase by 530 in August 2026 Concurrently the value of imports of goods increased by 578 over a year earlier to 8089 billion in September 2026 after a yearonyear increase by 600 in August 2026 A visible trade deficit of 463 billion equivalent to 57 of the value of imports of goods was recorded in September 2026

For the first nine months of 2026 as a whole the value of total exports of goods increased by 452 over the same period in 2025 Concurrently the value of imports of goods increased by 450 A visible trade deficit of 4177 billion equivalent to 70 of the value of imports of goods was recorded in the first nine months of 2026

Comparing the third quarter of 2026 with the preceding quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis the value of total exports of goods increased by 88 Meanwhile the value of imports of goods increased by 79

Analysis by countryterritory

Comparing September 2026 with September 2025 total exports to Asia as a whole grew by 675 In this region increases were registered in the values of total exports to most major destinations in particular Taiwan 1593 Malaysia 1315 Thailand 1180 Singapore 775 and Chinese Mainland the Mainland 681

Apart from destinations in Asia increases were registered in the values of total exports to some major destinations in other regions in particular Mexico 1481 and the USA 1334

Over the same period of comparison increases were registered in the values of imports from most major suppliers in particular Korea 2311 Vietnam 1187 Malaysia 739 India 613 and the Mainland 556

Comparing the first nine months of 2026 with the same period in 2025 increases were registered in the values of total exports to most major destinations in particular Taiwan 822 Singapore 818 the USA 707 Thailand 642 Malaysia 623 and the Mainland 494

Over the same period of comparison increases were registered in the values of imports from most major suppliers in particular Korea 1517 India 985 the United Kingdom 786 Vietnam 775 Malaysia 524 and the Mainland 461

Analysis by major commodity

Comparing September 2026 with September 2025 increases were registered in the values of total exports of most principal commodity divisions in particular electrical machinery apparatus and appliances and electrical parts thereof by 1556 billion or 662 and office machines and automatic data processing machines by 877 billion or 1837

Over the same period of comparison increases were registered in the values of imports of most principal commodity divisions in particular electrical machinery apparatus and appliances and electrical parts thereof by 1535 billion or 645 office machines and automatic data processing machines by 606 billion or 1420 and telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment by 490 billion or 817

Comparing the first nine months of 2026 with the same period in 2025 increases were registered in the values of total exports of most principal commodity divisions in particular electrical machinery apparatus and appliances and electrical parts thereof by 9737 billion or 526 office machines and automatic data processing machines by 3248 billion or 639 and telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment by 2257 billion or 514

Over the same period of comparison increases were registered in the values of imports of most principal commodity divisions in particular electrical machinery apparatus and appliances and electrical parts thereof by 9536 billion or 513 telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment by 2973 billion or 633 and office machines and automatic data processing machines by 2311 billion or 538

Commentary

A Government spokesman said that merchandise exports surged further by 649 over a year earlier in value terms in September driven by sustained stellar performance in exports of AIrelated electronic products marking the twentieth consecutive month of doubledigit growth and the fastest monthly yearonyear growth in over four decades Exports to all major markets increased notably

Looking ahead Hong Kongs merchandise trade performance will continue to benefit from the prevailing wave of robust AIrelated investment and the resilient global economic growth Nonetheless external uncertainties warrant close monitoring including the Middle East conflict trade protectionist measures by major economies and risks associated with the rapid expansion of global investment in AI

Further information

Table 1 presents the analysis of external merchandise trade statistics for September 2026 Table 2 presents the original monthly trade statistics from January 2023 to September 2026 and Table 3 gives the seasonally adjusted series for the same period

The values of total exports of goods to 10 main destinations for September 2026 are shown in Table 4 whereas the values of imports of goods from 10 main suppliers are given in Table 5

Tables 6 and 7 show the values of total exports and imports of 10 principal commodity divisions for September 2026

All the merchandise trade statistics described here are measured at current prices and no account has been taken of changes in prices between the periods of comparison A separate analysis of the volume and price movements of external merchandise trade for September 2026 will be released in midNovember 2026

The September 2026 issue of Hong Kong External Merchandise Trade contains detailed analysis on the performance of Hong Kongs external merchandise trade in