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In its latest 'Supermarket Price Survey Report' conducted on 17th May, Consumer Council added 21 new product samples including biscuits, snacks and candies to the current list. In comparison with last month's data, the recent survey showed that prices of tissue paper had remained quite stable, and a slight increase was observed in the prices of cooking oil. Among the 242 surveyed product samples, 60 samples recorded decrease in prices, 53 items remained unchanged. 5 out of 7 samples of tissue papers recorded slight increase in prices. Cooking oil, which recorded price increases in the last three months, kept on showing slight price rises in the recent survey. Consumer Council also conducted a specific price survey report on canned foods on 16th May. Prices of 10 canned food items were recorded in 22 retail outlets. A price difference of the same brand selling in different retail outlets amounted to 8% to over 50% was observed. Consumers are therefore advised to check with the above mentioned reports for the most updated price. Consumer Council has optimized its website with regard to the online search of data on its 'Supermarket Price Survey Report' and specific price survey report. Consumers can choose the items of their interest and use our online search function to interactively compare the retail prices of their chosen items at various retail outlets. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey Report' and specific price survey report on canned foods are now accessible on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo). Reports are also available free of charge at the two offices of the Consumer Council, local markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. For inquiries, please call 8988 9315
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (19th May 10:01 till 20th May 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1169 and 0.1291μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that value of retail sales for the first quarter of 2011 amounted to MOP 9.60 billion, up by 38% year-on-year. Retail sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery amounted to MOP 2.42 billion (25% of total), which was followed by retail sales of Goods in Department Stores (15%), Leather Goods (11%), Adults' Clothing (10%), Goods in Supermarkets (7%), Motor Vehicles (6%), Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles (3%) and Communication Equipment (3%). In comparison with the revised figure (MOP 8.50 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2010, value of retail sales for the first quarter of 2011 increased by 13%, with marked increase in the retail sales of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery (+25%), Goods in Supermarkets (+19%) and Communication Equipment (+19%). After removing the effect of price changes, volume of retail sales for the first quarter of 2011 rose by 27% year-on-year, with remarkable increase being observed in the sales volume of Leather Goods (+55%), Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles (+43%), Motor Vehicles (+40%), Communication Equipment (+38%) and Adults' Clothing (+30%). Volume of retail sales in the first quarter of 2011 registered a quarter-to-quarter increase of 10%, with that of Watches, Clocks & Jewellery rising by 20%, Communication Equipment and Goods in Supermarkets by 19% and 17% respectively. On the contrary, sales volume of Automotive Fuels declined by 5% quarter-to-quarter. In the first quarter of 2011, about 43% of the retailers reported decrease in the sales volume from the fourth quarter of 2010, up by 24 percentage points compared with the previous quarter; besides, 57% stated that the sales volume remained stable or showed increase. In terms of retail prices, about 49% noted that the prices were stable, 35% stated that the prices increased whereas 16% reported the prices decreased. Compared with the first quarter of 2010, about 65% expressed that the stock level was normal in the first quarter of 2011, while 26% indicated that the stock level was low. Regarding the business outlook for the second quarter of 2011, about 79% anticipate that the sales volume will increase or remain stable compared with the first quarter, while 21% expect a decrease. Meanwhile, about 34% predict that the retail prices will increase; 53% expect to be stable whereas 13% forecast a decrease.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI (108.74) for April 2011 increased by 4.88% year-on-year. The increase was attributable to higher charges for meals bought away from home, as well as hair dressing and grooming services, dearer prices of gasoline and gold jewellery; however, rising electricity subsidy from the Government to all households and lower charges for telecommunication services offset part of the increment. For the 12 months ended April 2011, the average Composite CPI increased by 3.88% from the previous period; the CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 3.47% and 4.06% respectively. In comparison with April 2010, notable increase was observed in the price index of Transport (+8.73%); Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+8.59%); Recreation & Culture (+7.33%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+6.52%) and Health (+6.48%) on account of dearer prices of gasoline, airfare, LP gas and gold jewellery, as well as higher charges for outbound package tours, meals bought away from home, and hairdressing and grooming services. On the contrary, price index of Communication decreased by 8.25% year-on-year. The CPI-A (107.90) and CPI-B (109.08) for April 2011 increased by 4.39% and 5.08% respectively. The Composite CPI for April 2011 increased by 0.10% month-to-month, of which the price index of Clothing & Footwear; and Transport rose by 1.41% and 1.30% respectively; however, price index of Housing & Fuels decreased by 1.63%. The CPI-A for April 2011 decreased by 0.15% month-to-month, while the CPI-B increased by 0.2%. The average Composite CPI for the first four months of 2011 increased by 4.99% year-on-year; the CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 4.66% and 5.17% respectively. The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (18th May 16:01 till 19th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1160 and 0.1291μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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The Macao Meteorological & Geophysical Bureau had analyzed the conditions of the oceans and the general atmospheric circulation between the recent winter and the present period, noticing that the sea surface temperature over the eastern to the middle part of the Equatorial Pacific had started cooling since last July and developed into a La Niña phenomenon late last year. However, trend of gradual weakening was shown since February this year. According to climatic data, there had been an annual average of 4.5 tropical cyclones affecting Macao for the past ten years. While at the same time, as we are now within a "weak La Niña" year, an above average number of tropical cyclones are expecting to affect us this year. From the above analysis, a preliminary outlook for this year had been outlined. We are expecting a number of 5 tropical cyclones or above affecting Macao this year of which around 2 of them leading to a typhoon signal number eight or above. The first tropical cyclone to affect us is expected to be around mid to late June which is earlier than normal, while the last one will be around mid October lying close to normal. Besides, the average temperature and precipitation of this summer (June till August) will be normal, that is approximately 28 degrees Celsius with a total rainfall ranging between 700 and 1200mm respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that total spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors reached MOP 9.8 billion in the first quarter of 2011, up by 13% in comparison with MOP 8.7 billion from a year earlier; per-capita spending of visitors amounted to MOP 1,516, an increase of 7% compared with MOP 1,417 in the first quarter of 2010. Analyzed by place of residence, per-capita spending of Mainland visitors was MOP 1,928 and that of Japan at MOP 1,366; Southeast Asia at MOP 1,166; Hong Kong at MOP 873; and Taiwan, China at MOP 856. Per-capita spending of tourists (overnight visitors) increased by 14% year-on-year to MOP 2,623, whereas that of same-day visitors decreased by 1% to MOP 600. Per-capita spending of overnight and same-day Mainland visitors amounted to MOP 3,334 and MOP 770 respectively. In the first quarter of 2011, per-capita non-shopping spending of visitors stood at MOP 777, up by 10% compared with MOP 706 from a year earlier, of which expenses on Accommodation and Food & Beverage accounted for 45% and 36% respectively. Japan visitors had the highest per-capita non-shopping spending of MOP 1,182 and that of overnight Japanese visitors reached MOP 1,923. Per-capita shopping spending of visitors increased by 4% from MOP 712 in the first quarter of 2010 to MOP 739, with Local Food Products (27%), Jewellery & Watches (19%) and Clothing (19%) being the more popular shopping items. Mainland visitors had the highest per-capita shopping spending of MOP 1,152 and that of overnight Mainland visitors amounted to MOP 1,773. Per-diem spending of visitors amounted to MOP 1,516 in the first quarter of 2011, up by 7% year-on-year. Per-diem spending of Mainland visitors stood at MOP 1,880 and that of visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, China was MOP 873 and MOP 856 respectively. The average length of stay of visitors was similar as the first quarter of 2010, at 0.9 day, with visitors from Oceania staying an average of 1.4 days. Average length of stay of overnight visitors increased by 0.1 day to 1.8 days and overnight visitors from Oceania had the longest stay of 2.5 days. Average length of stay of same-day visitors held stable at 0.2 day. Total spending and per-capita spending of visitors for the first quarter of 2011 were extrapolated from about 52,700 effective questionnaires collected; besides, data on the first quarter of 2010 has been re-compiled accordingly to facilitate direct comparison.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (18th May 10:01 till 19th May 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1160 and 0.1291μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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Director of Macau Government Tourism Office João Manuel Costa Antunes led a delegation comprising deputy directors and department heads to Hong Kong today (May 18) to meet and exchange with the Tourism Commission of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR , Hong Kong Tourism Board and Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. MGTO met with the Tourism Commission, Hong Kong Tourism Board and Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong for the annual meeting. MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes and Commissioner for Tourism Philip Yung spoke at the meeting, followed by representatives of the two parties reviewing the tourism performance in 2010 and development in 2011. Discussions also included priority markets and joint promotion of MGTO and HKTB. Members of the delegation included Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes, Deputy Directors Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Manuel Pires, Head of Promotion and Marketing Department Cecilia Tse, Head of Licensing and Inspection Department Ines Chan and Head of Research and Planning Department Cheng Wai Tong. Participants from Hong Kong included Commissioner for Tourism Philip Yung and Deputy Commissioner Rosanna Law, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board Anthony Lau and General Manager of Business Development Patrick Kwok, Chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong Michael Wu and Executive Director Joseph Tung, among others. Commissioner for Tourism of Hong Kong hosted a luncheon for the MGTO delegation after the meeting.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (17th May 16:01 till 18th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1169 and 0.1300μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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