Hong Kong’s trade deficit widened to $71.2 billion in August 2026 from $25.4 billion in the same month a year earlier. It marked the largest trade shortfall since March, as imports surged 60% year-on-year to a record $739.1 billion, driven primarily by soaring purchases of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (64.5%) and telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (50.4%). Imports were particularly strong from Mainland China (54.1%) and South Korea (265.8%). Meanwhile, exports rose 53% year-on-year to $667.9 billion, led by higher sales of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (62.6%) and office machines and automatic data processing machines (131%). Exports to Asia jumped 59.2%, while shipments to other key markets, including Mexico (68.8%) and the US (64.2%), also recorded strong gains. In the first eight months of 2026, Hong Kong's trade deficit totaled $371.2 billion. source: Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong

Hong Kong recorded a trade deficit of 71243 HKD Million in August of 2026. Balance of Trade in Hong Kong averaged -10525.00 HKD Million from 1952 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 7228.00 HKD Million in January of 2009 and a record low of -89084.00 HKD Million in March of 2026. This page provides the latest reported value for - Hong Kong Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Hong Kong Balance of Trade - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on October of 2026.

Hong Kong recorded a trade deficit of 71243 HKD Million in August of 2026. Balance of Trade in Hong Kong is expected to be -11000.00 HKD Million by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Hong Kong Balance of Trade is projected to trend around -33000.00 HKD Million in 2027 and -40000.00 HKD Million in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-08-25 08:30 AM
Balance of Trade
Jul H$-4.9B H$-52B H$-46.2B
2026-09-24 08:30 AM
Balance of Trade
Aug H$-71.2B H$-4.9B H$-10.6B
2026-10-28 08:30 AM
Balance of Trade
Sep H$-71.2B H$ -10B


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Balance of Trade -71243.00 -4888.00 HKD Million Aug 2026
Capital Flows 131292.00 -1570.00 HKD Million Jun 2026
Current Account 96031.00 38461.00 HKD Million Jun 2026
Current Account to GDP 12.20 13.10 percent of GDP Dec 2025
Exports 667851.00 672518.00 HKD Million Aug 2026
Exports YoY 53.00 50.70 percent Aug 2026
External Debt 17869078.00 16630372.00 HKD Million Jun 2026
Foreign Direct Investment 21790.05 21226.71 HKD Billion Jun 2026
Imports 739093.00 677405.00 HKD Million Aug 2026
Imports YoY 60.00 41.00 percent Aug 2026
Semiconductor Exports 307875.40 304406.16 HKD Million Aug 2026
Terms of Trade 100.50 100.90 points Jul 2026
Tourist Arrivals 4503842.00 3722694.00 Jul 2026


Hong Kong Balance of Trade
Since the late 1990’s Hong Kong has been recording trade deficits, as imports grew at a faster pace than exports. Hong Kong major exports are electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances; telecommunications and sound equipment and automatic data processing machines. The country imports mainly machinery and transport equipment; miscellaneous manufactured articles; manufactured goods and food and live animals. Main trading partner is China (40 percent of total exports and 47 percent of total imports). Others include: Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-71243.00 -4888.00 7228.00 -89084.00 1952 - 2026 HKD Million Monthly

News Stream
Hong Kong Trade Deficit Largest in 5 Months
Hong Kong’s trade deficit widened to $71.2 billion in August 2026 from $25.4 billion in the same month a year earlier. It marked the largest trade shortfall since March, as imports surged 60% year-on-year to a record $739.1 billion, driven primarily by soaring purchases of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (64.5%) and telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (50.4%). Imports were particularly strong from Mainland China (54.1%) and South Korea (265.8%). Meanwhile, exports rose 53% year-on-year to $667.9 billion, led by higher sales of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (62.6%) and office machines and automatic data processing machines (131%). Exports to Asia jumped 59.2%, while shipments to other key markets, including Mexico (68.8%) and the US (64.2%), also recorded strong gains. In the first eight months of 2026, Hong Kong's trade deficit totaled $371.2 billion.
2026-09-24
Hong Kong Trade Deficit Narrows Sharply
Hong Kong’s trade deficit narrowed sharply to $4.9 billion in July 2026 from $34.1 billion a year earlier, marking the smallest trade gap since a surplus in January 2025. Exports surged 50.7% year-on-year to a record $672.5 billion, driven mainly by stronger sales of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (54%) and office machines and automatic data processing machines (106.5%). Exports to Asia jumped 54.6%, while shipments to other key markets such as the US (92.9%) and Mexico (48.9%) also recorded gains. Meanwhile, imports rose 41% to $677.4 billion, fueled by increased purchases of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (47.1%), office machines and automatic data processing machines (78.9%) and non-ferrous metals (242.5%). Imports were particularly strong from Mainland China (37.1%), South Korea (146.6%) and India (110.7%). In the first seven months of 2026, Hong Kong’s trade deficit totaled $299.4 billion.
2026-08-25
Hong Kong Trade Deficit Narrows in June
Hong Kong's trade deficit narrowed to $52 billion in June 2026 from $58.9 billion in the same month a year earlier. Exports surged 53.4% year-on-year to an all-time high of $641.1 billion, driven mainly by stronger shipments of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (57.2%), and office machines and automatic data processing machines (93.2%). Exports to Asia rose 54.4%, while shipments to other key markets, such as the US (114.3%) and Mexico (94.2%), also increased. Meanwhile, imports climbed 45.4% from a year earlier to a three-month high of $693 billion, supported by higher purchases of electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (54.2%) and telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (67.3%). Import growth was particularly strong from Mainland China and Hong Kong (41.0%) and South Korea (176.7%). During the January–June period, the total trade deficit reached $294.6 billion.
2026-07-27