Hong Kong’s exports grew at the fastest pace in nearly three years in January, rising more than 33 percent from a low base last year that was partly a result of the timing of the Lunar New Year holidays.

Official data from The Census and Statistics Department showed that the city’s exports increased by 33.6 percent over a year earlier to HK$388.7 billion. That was three times more compared with the rise seen in December, while marking the fastest rate since February 2021.

Imports, meanwhile, rose 21.7 percent year on year to HK$385.1 billion. That was nearly double the increase seen in December, while representing the fastest growth in two and a half years.

That left the city with a trade surplus of HK$3.6 billion.

A government spokesperson said that given that trade flows tend to be more volatile in January and February each year due to the different timing of the Lunar New Year holidays, it will be more meaningful to analyse the figures for the January-February period together later to assess the underlying situation.

By region, exports to the mainland rose 54.2 percent year on year, followed by a 51 percent annual increase to India.

Exports to the US rose 11.5 percent, while those to the Netherlands fell 45.7 percent. However, exports to France jumped more than 38 percent during the period.

Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, as well as electrical parts saw the biggest spikes among the goods exported last month.

“Looking ahead, slow global economic growth and geopolitical factors will continue to affect Hong Kong's export performance in the near term,” a government spokesperson said, adding that they will monitor the situation closely.