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TABLE IV
COMMODITY COMPOSITION OF CHINESE EXPORTS TO HONG KONG, 1976/1777
% of Total Chinese Exports
Value
Commodity
(US million)
to Hong Kong
1976
1977
1976
1977
Food and live animals
668
711
42
41
Textile yarn, fabrics, etc.
257
273
15
16
Textile fibres
48
15
3
1
Clothing and footwear
80
116
5
7
Petroleum products
52
105
4
6
Other miscellaneous products
(eg ceramics, vegetable oils)
468
574
30
29
Total Exports
1583
1734
100
100
Source: Hong Kong Trade Statistics, 1976/1977
7.
For certain commodities (eg foodstuffs, clothing
Share of Hong Kong's Imports.
and cement) China has always accounted for a major share of Hong Kong's imports;
The proportion of all
Table V shows this 'market share' for certain commodities.
imports supplied by China has remained fairly constant in recent years at 17-20% although
it was slightly higher prior to the Cultural Revolution affecting trade.
China's share
of imported foodstuffs and live animals has also remained fairly constant at about 50%
after reaching this level in the 1960s. Her performance in other sectors has been patchy:
there is a marked increase in supplies of petroleum products,17% of Hong Kong's total
imports now coming from China, but her position in respect of clothing and footwear and in narticular, textile fibres has fluctuated. China's declining
share of the imports for the construction industry may result from the users of
these products looking for alternative supplies to meet the increased demand resulting
from Hong Kong's current major capital construction programmes and possibly because
China has, in recent years, tried to exploit her near-monopolistic situation as
regards cement by putting up her prices.
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