TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1979
IN ADDITION,
GROWTH IN AIRBORNE EXPORTS TO THE F.R. OF GERMANY WAS RECORDED IN APPAREL AND CLOTHING ACCESSORIES ($692 MILLION, 43 PER CENT), AND WATCHES AND CLOCKS ($188 MILLION, 172 PER CENT).
+ PROMINENT INCREASES WERE REGISTERED IN AIRBORNE EXPORTS OF WATCHES TO THE UNITED KINGDOM AND SWITZERLAND.
IMPORTS BY AIR FROM THE FOLLOWING MAJOR SUPPLIERS ALSO RECORDED INCREASES:
1978 (HK$ MN) (HK$ MN)
1977
INCREASE (HK$ MN)
PERCENTAGE
CHANGE
JAPAN
2,644
1,758
+ 886
50
U.S.A.
2,031
1,957
74
4
SWITZERLAND
1,442
873
+ 569
65
ISRAEL
961
178
+ 783
+ 440
UNITED KINGDOM
558
409
+ 149
36
SINGAPORE
519
358
+161
45
IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, MORE AND MORE PRODUCTS WERE IMPORTED INTO HONG KONG BY AIR.
INCREASES DURING 1978 WERE REGISTERED CHIEFLY IN WATCHES AND CLOCKS ($3,016 MILLION, +46 PER CENT), THERMIONIC, COLD CATHODE AND PHOTO-CATHODE VALVES AND TUBES, AND MISCELLANEOUS ELECTRICAL APPARATUS ($1,885 MILLION, 29 PER CENT), PEARLS, PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES ($1,640 MILLION, + 150 PER CENT), AND OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT ($912 MILLION, + 48 PER CENT).
BY COUNTRY, INCREASES IN AIRBORNE IMPORTS FROM JAPAN WERE LARGELY DUE TO RISES IN WATCHES AND CLOCKS ($1,224 MILLION,
+ 38 PER CENT), AND FROM THE U.S.A., RISES IN ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AND PARTS FOR COMPUTERS ($520 MILLIÓN, EIGHT PER CENT), GINSENG ($86 MILLION, + NINE PER CENT), WATCHES AND CLOCKS ($76 MILLION, + 38 PER CENT) AND DIAMONDS ($50 MILLION, 81 PER CENT).
+
REMARKABLE INCREASES WERE NOTED IN ARRIVALS OF WATCHES AND CLOCKS ($1,141 MILLION, + 56 PER CENT), FROM SWITZERLAND AND OF DIAMONDS ($952 MILLION, + 480 PER CENT FROM ISRAEL VIA AIR.
INCREASES WERE ALSO FOUND IN AIRBORNE RE-EXPORTS WITH MAJOR ITEMS LIKE PEARLS, PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES ($935 MILLION, + 71 PER CENT), WATCHES AND CLOCKS ($812 MILLION, 13 PER CENT), THERMIONIC, COLD CATHODE AND PHOTO-CATHODE VALVES AND TUBES AND MISCELLANEOUS ELECTRICAL MACHINERY ($495 MILLION, 24 PER CENT) AS WELL AS PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND PHOTO GRAPHIC APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT ($209 MILLION, 25 PER CENT).
MAIN MARKETS FOR AIRBORNE RE-EXPORTS INCLUDED JAPAN ($1,316 MILLION, + 80 PER CENT), TAIWAN ($585 MILLION, +43 PER CENT) SINGAPORE ($528 MILLION, + 33 PER CENT) AND THE U.S.A. ($452 MILLION, + 40 PER CENT) WHICH TOGETHER ABSORBED ABOUT 69 PER CENT OF RE-EXPORTS DESPATCHED FROM HONG KONG BY AIR DURING 1978.
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