Hong Kong's total exports and imports value showed significant year-on-year increases in April, at 21.7 percent and 28.8 percent respectively, according to the statistics released by the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong government on Thursday.

The exports value reached 242.2 billion HK dollars (31.1 billion U.S. dollars) in April, including 236.7 billion HK dollars' re-exports value and 5.5 billion HK dollars'domestic value.

The increase came after a year-on-year surge of 32.1 percent of exports value in March this year, said the department.

Meanwhile, the value of imports increased over a year earlier to 277.5 billion HK dollars in April, after a year-on-year increase of 39.8 percent a month earlier.

A visible trade deficit of 35.2 billion HK dollars, equivalent to 12.7 percent of the imports value, was recorded in April.

For the first four months of 2010, the total exports value rose by 24.8 percent over the same period in 2009; concurrently, the value of imports moved up by 32.8 percent, according to the statistics.

In April, strong increases were registered in exports value to most major destinations in Asia, especially India and Indonesia, with a rise of 27. 9 percent.

Over the same period, imports surge were found from suppliers, India and Singapore in particular.

Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof, and office machines and automatic data processing machines, were found the most principal commodities surging in both exports and imports value, with over 20 percent increase each.

The statistics showed that the merchandise exports rose markedly further in April, with Asian markets continuing to distinctly outperform the U.S. and EU market, said a government spokesman.

Looking ahead, the robust growth of the Asian region should continue to render support to Hong Kong's trade performance in the coming months, added the spokesman.

However, the spokesman also pointed out that the European sovereign debt problem is posing a downside to the external environment.

The austerity measures to be implemented by the indebted European countries may put a drag on the already fragile recovery in Europe and hence weigh on Hong Kong's export outlook in the latter part of the year, the spokesman said. (1 U.S. dollar is equivalent to 7.79 HK dollars)