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about 3%. In 1988, they grew by 18% (Table 2). This setback was in line with the sluggish domestic export performance, which had dampened investment intentions. The growth rate of domestic exports decelerated markedly from 9% in 1988, to 6% in the first quarter and 2% in the second quarter of 1989. In the third quarter, a decline of about 1% was
recorded.
8.
(a)
Retained imports of capital
goods other than for manufacturing use
In view of the heterogeneous nature of
The
these retained imports, the changes in real terms are
not sufficiently reliable to be quoted publicly. series is included merely to provide a rough
indication of trend. Retained imports of capital goods other than for manufacturing use fell by about 8% in the third quarter of 1989, while in the first and second quarters they grew by 23% and 8% respectively. The corresponding growth rate was about 6% for the first three quarters of 1989 as a
whole, and 17% for 1988 as a whole (Table 2).
9.
Within this broad group of retained
imports, the growth rates of different categories of capital goods varied substantially in the third quarter of 1989. While retained imports of textile machinery and of transport equipment showed significant growth in value terms, declines were recorded for all other categories of imported capital
goods. The largest decline was recorded for
scientific and optical instruments and apparatus, followed by air conditioners and air conditioning
machines. The significant increase in textile machinery was due mainly to a low base of comparison
in the third quarter of 1988. (Table 3).
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