ENG-2011 — Page 140

104 Commerce and Industry

to $7,101.8 billion in 2011 compared with 2010. Domestic exports decreased by 5.5 per cent to $65.7 billion whereas that of re-exports increased by 10.5 per cent to $3,271.6 billion compared with the previous year. Imports increased by 11.9 per cent to $3,764.6 billion. A summary of external merchandise trade statistics is at Table 13 of Appendix 6.

Hong Kong's biggest trading partner in 2011 was the Mainland, followed by the United States (US) and Japan. In 2011, Hong Kong was the world's 10th largest trading entity in terms of value of merchandise trade.

Imports

Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof constituted the largest share of total imports in 2011 at $1,013.4 billion, followed by telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment ($527.2 billion) and office machines and automatic data processing machines ($356.6 billion).

In 2011, the Mainland, Japan and Singapore were Hong Kong's major suppliers, accounting for 45.1 per cent, 8.5 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively of the total value of imports.

Domestic Exports

Jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares, and other articles of precious or semi-precious materials formed the largest component of domestic exports, valued at $8.5 billion or 13 per cent of the total value of domestic exports in 2011. Other major export items included plastics in primary forms; metalliferous ores and metal scraps; and non-ferrous metals.

The Mainland, the US and Taiwan were Hong Kong's largest markets during the year, absorbing 46.8 per cent, 10.9 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively of the total value of domestic exports.

Re-exports

In 2011, electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof worth $896.1 billion were the principal commodities re-exported (27.4 per cent of the total value of re-exports). This was followed by re-exports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment, which amounted to $559.5 billion (17.1 per cent of the total value of re-exports). The Mainland, Japan and Taiwan were the main origins of the re-exports, while the Mainland, the US and Japan were the main destinations.

The Manufacturing Sector

With the expansion of manufacturing activities offshore since the 1980s, Hong Kong has evolved into a strategic control centre with an increasingly globalised production network. In spite of Hong Kong's economic restructuring, the manufacturing sector continued to provide employment for 115 000 people (3.2 per cent of overall employment) in 2011.