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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The trend of the Colony's trade by value and by volume for the years 1948 to 1956, and the principal sources and destinations of exports in 1956 are illustrated in the diagrams between pp. 76 and 77. Tables showing the value of imports from and exports to the principal countries trading with the Colony, and the main commodities concerned, with comparative figures for 1954 and 1955, are at appendices VII, VIII, IX and X.
Details of a wide range of Hong Kong products are re- corded separately in the Hong Kong Trade Statistics. The value of these exported during 1956 exceeded the total for 1955 by 7.2%. Separate records are not kept for all items, but the overall total for 1956 is probably over 30% of the Colony's total exports.
The United Kingdom increased her imports by 16.3% over the value for the previous year, and was again the best customer for Hong Kong products. Indonesia replaced Malaya in the second position, exports to this country rising by 39.6%. Malaya reduced her purchases by 14.1% and dropped to third place. A large reduction was also recorded in the value of such exports to Thailand, but exports to British West Africa increased in value by 36.3%.
The diagram facing p. 76 illustrates the principal Hong Kong products exported during the year 1956.
TRADE PROMOTION
Government participation in the promotion of Hong Kong's trade is most evident in the arranging of Colony ex- hibits at trade fairs and the production of trade publicity material, but intervention when the entrepôt trade or export of the Colony's domestic products is threatened by the action of overseas countries continues to be an important function of the Commerce and Industry Department. In the conduct of all these matters the Director of Commerce and Industry is ably assisted by the Trade and Industry Advisory Committee, a committee representative of the Colony's mer- chant and industrial community.