24
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
export all over the world. Knitting mills produce a wide range of items in cotton, wool and man-made fibres. The export value of garments amounted to $5,464 million in 1971, an increase of 26 per cent by value over the previous year.
Frequent changes in fashion styles and fabric construction and use pose many problems for the industry, particularly in view of Hong Kong's distance from its principal markets. These problems are, however, being tackled energetically and the industry is engaged in substantial re-equipment of machinery and plant in order to maintain its prominent position in the world textiles field. It is considered that this re-equipment will continue despite the measures outlined later in this chapter to limit exports of textiles to North America, although at a slower pace than would have been achieved in the absence of these export restraints.
Other Light Industries
In the ever-widening range of Hong Kong's light industry, the plastic industry still holds its position as second in importance only to textiles. Plastic products manufactured by the 68,950 workers in some 3,019 factories include toys, household and industrial articles and components for other industries, such as radio and television cabinets. Skill in the production of moulds and dies, together with the ability to meet short-notice orders, contributed to the rise in ex- ports which amounted to $1,519 million in 1971 a nine per cent increase over 1970.
The electronics industry continues to widen its range of products. Consumer goods turned out by the industry include tape-recorders, desk calculators, television sets and parts as well as transistor radios. Complete computer memory systems are now manufactured in ad- dition to components such as memory cores, silicon transistors and diodes, magnetic reed switches, integrated circuits, condensers, trans- formers, capacitors, resistors and loudspeakers. The 281 establish- ments in the industry, employing 41,624 workers contributed $1,384 million to exports in 1971.
These figures represent a slight reduction compared with last year, brought about mainly by the soft market conditions which prevailed in the United States, Hong Kong's principal market, during most of 1971. Despite this, the growth of production and exports continued, although at a slower rate than has been the case in recent years.
The wig industry also suffered from the economic recession in the United States, its major market. Exports during 1971 were valued