MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1979
ANALYSIS OF EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS BY INDUSTRIAL ORIGIN
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THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (MONDAY) PUBLISHED EXTERNAL TRADE FIGURES ANALYSED BY INDUSTRIAL ORIGIN FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER AND ALSO THE WHOLE OF LAST YEAR.
THIS SERIES IS DERIVED BY RE-GROUPING EACH SIX-DIGIT COMMODITY ITEM OF THE PRESENT TRADE CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO THE INDUSTRY OF WHICH THE COMMODITY IS A PRINCIPAL PRODUCT.
ON DOMESTIC EXPORTS, THE FIVE INDUSTRY GROUPS HAVING THE HIGHEST CONTRIBUTIONS WERE WEARING APPAREL, TEXTILES, ELECTRICAL MACHINERY AND APPLIANCES, PROFESSIONAL AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT AND PLASTIC PRODUCTS.
THEY ACCOUNTED FOR 82 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1978,
INCREASES IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER WERE HIGHEST IN THE CASE OF MINING AND QUARRYING, RUBBER PRODUCTS AND TOBACCO, BEING 76 PER CENT, 59 PER CENT AND 44 PER CENT OVER THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1978.
BUT DECREASES IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE FOUND IN BEVERAGES (-48 PER CENT), AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE, LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY (-20 PER CENT), PLASTIC PRODUCTS (-7 PER CENT), AND CHEMICAL AND CHEMICAL PRODUCTS (-3 PER CENT).
ON IMPORTS, PRODUCTS OF THE TEXTILES, ELECTRICAL MACHINERY AND APPLIANCES, CHEMICAL AND CHEMICAL PRODUCTS, FOOD, METAL PRODUCTS, AND PROFESSIONAL AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT INDUSTRIES TOGETHER TOOK UP 58 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF IMPORTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1978.
THE HIGHEST INCREASES IN THE VALUE OF IMPORTS BETWEEN THE LAST TWO QUARTERS OF 1978 OCCURRED IN MINING AND QUARRYING (158 PER CENT), NON-ELECTRICAL MACHINERY (39 PER CENT), OCEAN AND COASTAL FISHING (36 PER CENT), FORESTRY AND LOGGING (34 PER CENT) AND FOOTWEAR (34 PER CENT).
SLIGHT DECREASES WERE REGISTERED IN BEVERAGES (-6 PER CENT), AND PRODUCTS OF PETROLEUM AND COAL (-1 PER CENT).
LAST YEAR, 82 PER CENT BY VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE ACCOUNTED FOR BY THE FIVE INDUSTRY GROUPS OF WEARING APPAREL (28 PER CENT), TEXTILES (19 PER CENT), ELECTRICAL MACHINERY AND APPLIANCES (17 PER CENT), PLASTIC PRODUCTS (10 PER CENT), AND PROFESSIONAL AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT (8 PER CENT).
ON IMPORTS, THE HIGHEST SHARES WERE CONTRIBUTED BY TEXTILES (16 PER CENT), ELECTRICAL MACHINERY AND APPLIANCES (12 PER CENT), CHEMICAL AND CHEMICAL PRODUCTS (9 PER CENT), AND FOOD PRODUCTS (8 PER CENT).
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