Chinese exports and imports expected to have fallen by double digits in April

China’s exports and imports are expected to drop by double digits in April, after making a recovery in March. That’s because the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has damaged global demand and disrupted industrial supply chains.

Chinese exports fell 15.7% in April year-on-year, according to the average of estimates from 28 economists captured in a survey, which is much worse than the 6.6% contraction in March. Exports shrank 17.2% in the first two months of the year. Meanwhile, imports dropped 11.2% in the first two months compared to the same period last year, the sharpest drop since July 2016.  April’s trade surplus was about $ 6.35 billion, down from $ 19.9 billion in March.

Recent surveys also point out that export orders at China’s factories collapsed in April, with many foreign customers canceling a large number of orders as the coronavirus health crisis closed much of the world economy.

According to the China Ports Association, the second quarter is generally a busy period in Chinese ports, but as Covid-19 respiratory disease spreads globally, growth in container traffic has been contained by a slowdown in global logistics activity and capacity cuts at shipping companies.  The association estimates that container transport could fall by 10% to 15% in the second quarter.

Source: Reuters

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