Xinhua
16 May 2022, 13:35 GMT+10
BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's retail sales declined during the first four months of this year as the flare-ups of COVID-19 weighed on the country's consumer market, official data showed on Monday.
Retail sales of consumer goods, a significant indicator of China's consumption strength, went down 0.2 percent year on year to 13.81 trillion yuan (about 2 trillion U.S. dollars) in the January-April period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
In April alone, retail sales declined 11.1 percent from a year ago to 2.95 trillion yuan.
"The decline of retail sales in April was mainly due to the short-term impact of COVID-19," said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui at a press conference.
Last month, sales of non-daily necessities and the catering sector took a blow from the COVID-19 resurgence, dragging down the growth of China's overall retail sales, Fu said.
In April, catering revenues declined by 22.7 percent. Regions severely hit by COVID-19, such as the Yangtze River Delta and northeast China, saw retail sales plunge.
Despite the drop in retail sales, residents' basic living needs were guaranteed, leading to the sales growth of relevant commodities.
Sales of beverages of major enterprises jumped 6 percent in April, while sales of grain, edible oil and other food products rose 10 percent, NBS data showed.
Major supermarkets saw sales grow 3.6 percent year on year in the first four months. Sales from groceries and convenience stores rose 2.4 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.
Moreover, China's online consumption continued to shore up retail sales. In the first four months, online sales of physical goods rose 5.2 percent, with its proportion in retail sales increasing.
Fu expected China's consumption to gradually recover from the COVID-19 impact and continue to stabilize the economy, adding that consumption served as the primary force driving China's economic growth in 2021 and the first quarter of this year.
"The pent-up consumption will be gradually released with the epidemic brought under control and production and people's lives returning to normal," Fu noted.
The recovery momentum of China's consumption will continue partly due to the easing epidemic situation, pro-consumption policies, and measures on supporting enterprises, he said.
Get a daily dose of Hong Kong Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Hong Kong Herald.
More InformationDHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama is set to address a significant three-day conference of Buddhist leaders this week, coinciding with...
BEIJING, China: China's national soccer team may struggle to stir excitement, but its humanoid robots are drawing cheers — and not...
]LONDON, U.K.: A World Health Organization (WHO) expert group investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic released its final...
FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany has become the latest country to challenge Chinese AI firm DeepSeek over its data practices, as pressure...
TORONTO, Canada: Harvard University and the University of Toronto have created a backup plan to ensure Harvard graduate students continue...
(New York) - China's government has erased Hong Kong's freedoms since imposing the draconian National Security Law on June 30, 2020,...
NEW YORK, New York -U.S. stock markets closed with broad gains on Thursday, led by strong performances in U.S. tech stocks, while European...
LONDON/STOCKHOLM: The Persson family is ramping up its investment in the H&M fashion empire, fueling renewed speculation about a potential...
PARIS, France: L'Oréal is making a fresh play in the booming premium haircare segment with a new acquisition. The French beauty conglomerate...
MENLO PARK, California: Robinhood is giving European investors a new way to tap into America's most prominent tech names — without...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks diverged on Wednesday for the second day in a row. The Standard and Poor's 500 hit a new all-time...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. dollar continues to lose ground, weighed down by growing concerns over Washington's fiscal outlook...