Hong Kong’s manufacturing output grew by 2.3% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, easing from 3.1% in the first quarter and marking a second straight quarter of slower expansion. This was the weakest growth rate since the second quarter of 2025.
Production of metal, computer, electronic and optical products, as well as machinery and equipment, continued to lose momentum, rising 3.8% after a 6.5% increase in the previous quarter. Output of food, beverages and tobacco fell sharply, contracting 4% and reversing a 2.2% gain recorded in the first quarter. Meanwhile, textiles and wearing apparel remained in decline, though the pace of contraction moderated to 1.5% from 4.6%.
By contrast, production in paper products, printing and reproduction of recorded media returned to growth, expanding 2.8% after a 2.6% decline in the previous quarter. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, overall manufacturing production inched up 0.2%, following a 2.6% drop in the first quarter.