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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
Imports of consumer goods, valued at $85,181 million, constituted 31 per cent of total imports. The major consumer goods imported were clothing ($19,667 million); radios, television receivers, gramophones, records, amplifiers and tape recorders ($8,629 million); diamonds ($6,268 million); watches ($5,308 million); baby carriages, toys, games and sporting goods ($4,462 million); handbags ($3,533 million); cameras and photography supplies ($2,623 million).
Imports of capital goods amounted to $39,501 million, or 14 per cent of total imports. Imported capital goods consisted mainly of transport equipment ($4,147 million), office machines ($3,376 million), electrical machinery ($6,483 million), electronic components and parts of computers ($5,259 million) and textile machinery ($2,260 million).
Imports of foodstuffs were valued at $23,484 million, representing nine per cent of total im- ports. The principal imported food items were fish and fish preparations ($4,561 million), fruit ($3,264 million), meat and meat preparations ($2,675 million) and vegetables ($2,509 million).
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials worth some $8,271 million were imported in 1986, representing three per cent of total imports.
China and Japan were the two principal suppliers of imports in 1986, providing 30 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, of the total. China alone supplied 43 per cent of Hong Kong's im- ported foodstuffs. Taiwan ranked third, providing nine per cent of total imports, followed by the United States, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom and West Germany. Clothing remained the largest component of domestic exports in 1986, valued at $52,162 million or 34 per cent of the total. Exports of miscellaneous manufactured articles consisting mainly of plastic toys and dolls; jewellery; goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares as well as arti- ficial flowers were valued at $25,430 million, representing 17 per cent of total domestic exports. Telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment were valued at $11,681 million (eight per cent of the total). Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances consisting mainly of transistors, diodes and household type appliances amounted to $11,214 million or seven per cent of the total. Domestic exports of photographic apparatus, equipment, supplies and optical goods, watches and clocks, valued at $13,041 million, con- tributed another eight per cent to the total. Other important exports included textiles (seven per cent) as well as office machines and automatic data processing equipment (five per cent). The direction and level of Hong Kong's export trade is much influenced by economic conditions and commercial policies in major overseas markets. In 1986, 62 per cent of all domestic exports went to the United States and the European Economic Community. The largest market was the United States ($64,219 million or 42 per cent of the total), followed by China ($18,022 million or 12 per cent), West Germany ($11,003 million or seven per cent), and the United Kingdom ($9,918 million or six per cent). Domestic exports to Japan and Canada increased to $6,212 million and $4,880 million respectively, with Japan representing four per cent and Canada three per cent of total domestic exports. Other important markets were Australia, the Netherlands and Singapore.
Re-exports continued to increase in 1986, accounting for 44 per cent of the combined total of domestic exports and re-exports. The principal commodities re-exported were textiles ($20,094 million); articles of apparel and clothing accessories ($13,366 million); miscellaneous manufactured articles, ne s ($10,343 million); electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances ($9,618 million); telecommunication and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment ($6,680 million) as well as photographic apparatus, equipment and supplies and optical goods, watches and clocks ($5,735 million). The main places of origin of these re-exports were China, Japan, the United States and Taiwan. The largest re-export markets were China, the United States, Japan, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea.