Exports fell 9.2 percent over a year earlier and imports declined at a faster 11.5 percent.
Exports fell 9.2 percent to HKD 348.5 billion, mainly due to lower sales of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (-16.9 percent); miscellaneous manufactured articles (-19.6 percent) and office machines and automatic data processing machines (-9.9 percent).
On the other hand, sales of power generating machinery and equipment advanced 32.8 percent.
Exports to Asia as a whole declined 6.4 percent, in particular Korea (-14.5 percent), India (-10.7 percent), Vietnam (-10.3 percent), Japan (-10.1 percent), the Mainland (-7.3 percent) and Malaysia (-4.0 percent).
In contrast, sales increased to Taiwan (16.8 percent) and Singapore (4.5 percent).
Apart from destinations in Asia, exports decreased to the UK (-22.1 percent), the US (-21.1 percent) and Germany (-17.7 percent).
Imports went down 11.5 percent over a year ago to HKD 379.1 in October, mostly due to lower purchases of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (-21.0 percent); office machines & automatic data processing machines (-22.0 percent) and electrical machinery, apparatus & appliances, and electrical parts thereof (-3.8 percent).
Meanwhile, imports of power generating machinery and equipment jumped 38.0 percent.
Among major trading partners, imports dropped from Korea (-24.7 percent), the US (-23.9 percent), India (-16.3 percent), the Mainland (-14.5 percent), Thailand (-9.5 percent) and Singapore (-6.1 percent).
In contrasts, imports went up from Vietnam (23.4 percent) and Malaysia (3.0 percent).
A Government spokesman said that the year-on-year decline in the value of merchandise exports accelerated further in October, buffeted by sluggish global demand and continued US-Mainland trade tensions. Exports to many major markets registered visible declines.
Looking ahead, Hong Kong's merchandise export performance will likely stay weak in the near term, as soft global economic growth and uncertainties stemming from US trade policies continue to dampen external demand. The Government will continue to monitor the situation closely. ■