The gross margin from merchanting was $176.5 billion, up 9.4% on 2007, while the commission from merchandising for offshore transactions was $27.6 billion, up 11.9%.

The sales value of goods involved in merchanting grew 33.7% to $2.77 trillion, while the sales value of goods involved in merchandising for offshore transactions was estimated at $592.5 billion, up 1.1%. The re-exports value rose 6% to $2.73 trillion and the rate of re-export margin was estimated at 17.5%.

The department said offshore trade continued to grow notably in 2008, despite the sharp deceleration in global trade flows observed towards the end of the year. The fact the total goods sales value in offshore trade in 2008 was again having faster growth than the re-exports goods value showed the increasingly important role played by offshore trade in Hong Kong's external trade.

The US and the Mainland were the two major destinations in terms of offshore trade earnings, accounting for 26.3% and 24.7% of the gross margin and commission earned. They were followed by the UK (6.3%), Germany (6.1%) and Japan (5%).

Analysed by destination of goods sold under merchanting, the Mainland was the major destination, accounting for 40.6% of the total value of goods sold. It was followed by the US (16.4%), Japan (7.3%), Singapore (5.6%) and the UK (4.3%).