MACAO-- The value of industrial production of Macao continued to fall in 2010 due to the protracted decline in exports, with that of the manufacturing sector decreasing by 24.6 percent year-on-year, according to figures released by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) on Friday.

The value of industrial production and other receipts amounted to 8.92 billion patacas ($1.11 billion) in 2010, down 16.5 percent over 2009, while there were 911 entities operating in industrial production in 2010, a drop of 97 from 2009, said the DSEC.

The figures also indicated that the value of industrial production of the manufacturing sector reached 5.74 billion patacas ($710 million) in 2010, with that of manufacturing of apparel (1.72 billion patacas) and textiles (919 million patacas), the two major traditional industries, dropping further by 51.4 percent and 10.5 percent respectively.

However, the value of production of food products and beverages (900 million patacas) has increased by 33.9 percent year-on-year on back of rising visitor arrivals.

Due to the development of Macao's economy, the demand for electricity and water increased continuously in 2010, according to the data.