Broad growth: May saw the value of total exports of goods rise to $216.6 billion, up 12.1% on the same month last year.

May saw the value of total exports of goods rise to $216.6 billion, up 12.1% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department says. The figure comes after a year-on-year rise of 12.6% in April.

Within this total, the value of re-exports grew 14.1% to $207.3 billion, whereas the value of domestic exports fell 19.9% to $9.2 billion. Concurrently, the value of imports of goods rose 11.1% over a year earlier to $230.9 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 14.7% in April.

A visible trade deficit of $14.3 billion, equivalent to 6.2% of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in May.

For the first five months of the year, the value of total exports of goods rose 10.3% over the same period last year. Within this total, the value of re-exports rose 12.7%, whereas the value of domestic exports fell 27.4%.  Concurrently, the value of imports of goods grew 10.5%.

A visible trade deficit of $75.1 billion, equivalent to 6.9% of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in the first five months of the year.

The department said merchandise exports remained robust and attained another month of broad-based growth in May. While the Mainland market continued to be the growth driver, exports to many other East Asian economies also grew distinctly. The recovery of the Japan and EU economies also saw steady growth in exports to these markets, offsetting the slack in the US market.

It believed the near-term export outlook is still rather positive, as the external environment remained sanguine under a thriving Mainland economy and continued expansion in Japan and Europe.