MACAO -- The value of Macao's retail sales for the first quarter of 2023 totaled 24 billion patacas ($2.97 billion), up by 29.3 percent year-on-year, the special administrative region's statistic department said on Wednesday.

The latest report from the Statistics and Census Service showed that among the major retail trade activities, sales values of Chinese food products surged by 230.4 percent year-on-year, while sales values of watches, clocks and jewelery, leather goods and cosmetics and sanitary articles grew by 52.7 percent, 41.9 percent and 37.1 percent respectively.

On the other hand, sales values of communication equipment decreased by 30.2 percent.

The value of retail sales in the first quarter of 2023 went up by 62.3 percent as compared with the revised figure of 14.79 billion patacas in the fourth quarter of 2022. Sales values of Chinese food products, leather goods, watches, clocks and jewelery and department stores soared by 257.2 percent, 106.5 percent, 106.0 percent and 91.1 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the sales volume index rose by 64.8 percent quarter to quarter (1 pataca equals 0.12 US dollar).