Hong Kong exports to drop 6 pct in 2009 - HKTDC

HONG KONG, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's exports will fall 6 percent by value in 2009, marking their first annual decline since 2001 amid a slump in demand from the United States and Europe, a quasi-government trade body forecast on Monday.

'A difficult external environment, heightened by the worldwide financial stresses and the prospect of a global recession, will tend to reverse the growth trend of Hong Kong exports that has prevailed over the past years,' Edward Leung, chief economist at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), said in a statement.

The trade council forecast a 6 percent drop in exports by value in 2009 and a 3.5 percent decline by volume.

In the first 10 months of 2008, exports grew 8 percent by value.

Hong Kong's economy slipped into recession in the third quarter amid weakening export growth and slower consumer spending. The HKTDC's export forecast supports analysts' expectations the economy will remain in recession until at least the second half of next year.

A Reuters poll forecasts Hong Kong's economy, which has expanded by an average 7.3 percent annually over the past four years, will grow just 0.2 percent in 2009.

The government forecasts between 3 and 3.5 percent growth for 2008.