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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1974
ECONOMIC REPORT, OCTOBER 1974 ******
HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED, IN QUANTITY TERMS, BY AN ESTIMATED 8 PER CENT IN THE 12 MONTHS TO THE END OF JUNE THIS YEAR. THIS COMPARES WITH AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 3 PER CENT OVER THE SAME PERIOD TO JUNE 1973.
PRICES FOR THESE EXPORTS INCREASED BY ABOUT 28 PER CENT, COMPARED WITH 11 PER CENT THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
THESE AND OTHER DETAILED STATISTICS ARE CONTAINED IN THE LATEST EDITION OF THE ECONOMIC REPORT, DATED OCTOBER, WHICH TAKES ACCOUNT OF HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1974. THE REPORT, PREPARED THREE TIMES A YEAR, APRIL, JULY AND OCTOBER, COMPLEMENTS THE DUDGET: ECONOMIC LACKGROUND+ PUBLICATION PREPARED IN JANUARY.
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THE FIGURES FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1974 SHOW THAT DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE WORTH $6,199 MILLION, AN INCREASE OF $927 MILLION OVER THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1974. THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED OVER THE SAME PERIOD BY $89 MILLION.
IMPORTS ALSO INCREASED BY $1,709 MILLION DURING THE QUARTER, LEAVING A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR THE QUARTER OF $1,681 MILLION.
THE REPORT SHOWS THAT DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF TRANSISTORISED RADIOS INCREASED BY 33 PER CENT, IN QUANTITY TERMS, IN THE SECOND QUARTER AND THAT THE INCREASE FOR FOOTWEAR WAS AS HIGH AS 17 PER CENT.
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IT ADDS THAT, IN THE CASE OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AND WATCHES AND CLOCKS, THE QUANTITIES EXPORTED VERE HIGHER THAN IN ANY QUARTER IN THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS, AND, RESPECTIVELY, 27 PER CENT AND 52 PER CENT MORE THAN IN THE SECOND QUARTER" OF 1973+ EXPORTS OF TEXTILE FABRICS, IN QUANTITY TERMS, INCREASED BY 10 PER CENT.
ON THE OTHER HAND, EXPORTS OF CLOTHING DURING THE SECOND QUARTER DECLINED IN QUANTITY BY 4 PER CENT, DESPITE A CONSIDERABLE INCREASE, AMOUNTING TO 64 PER CENT, IN THE QUANTITY SOLD TO AUSTRALIA.
THE REPORT NOTES THAT, IN THE SECOND QUARTER, HONG KONG'S TERMS OF TRADE (THAT IS, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN" EXPORT AND IMPORT PRICES) CONTINUED TO DETERIORATE, THOUGH MARGINALLY IN THE SECOND QUARTER, BUT ADDS THAT THIS MUST BE SHOWN AGAINST A +BACKGROUND OF RAPIDLY RISING WORLD PRICES+, AND TO SOME EXTENT IS TO BE EXPECTED. IMPORT PRICES OF FUELS INCREASED BY AS MUCH AS 199 PER CENT AND FOODSTUFFS AND RAW MATERIAL PRICES ROSE BY 50 PER CENT AND 53 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
THE REPORT
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