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SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 1980
REVIEW OF OVERSEAS TRADE IN 1979
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THE HONG KONG REVIEW OF OVERSEAS TRADE IN 1979+ IS NOW ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS. CENTRE IN THE GPO BUILDING AT CONNAUGHT PLACE.
AT $25 A COPY, IT CONTAINS A BRIEF TEXT, 12 GRAPHS AND 33 STATISTICAL APPENDICES WITH COMPARATIVE FIGURES FOR THE PREVIOUS YEARS.
INTRODUCING THE REVIEW, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT POINTED OUT THAT IT GIVES A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE DIRECTION AND COMPOSITION OF HONG KONG'S OVERSEAS TRADE IN 1979, INCLUDING A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF TRADE BY MAJOR TRADING PARTNER AND BY COMMODITY CATEGORY.
+IN VIEW OF THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF AIRBORNE TRADE, TABLES HAVE BEEN ADDED, ANALYSING THE PERFORMANCE OF AIRBORNE TRÅDE BETWEEN HONG KONG AND HER TRADING PARTNERS BY COMMODITY CATEGORY.
+THE REVIEW ALSO ILLUSTRATES THE MOVEMENTS IN COMMODITY PRICES AND THE REAL GROWTH IN EXTERNAL TRADE BY MEANS OF TRADE INDEXES.
+ INCLUDED IN THE PUBLICATION IS A COMPARISON OF HONG KONG'S EXPORT PERFORMANCE IN MAJOR OVERSEAS MARKETS WITH THAT OF HER MAIN COMPETITORS, HE ADDED.
SEVERAL SPECTACULAR DEVELOPMENTS IN OVERSEAS TRADE TOOK PLACE LAST YEAR. AMONG THE SUPPLYING COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE GROWTH IN IMPORTS IN 1979 COMPARED WITH 1978 WERE EGYPT (UP 2 242 TIMES TO HK$10.8 MILLION) AND BULGARIA (UP 28 TIMES TO HK$5.8 MILLION).
AMONG THE OVERSEAS MARKETS WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE GROWTH IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE YUGOSLAVIA (UP 11 TIMES TO HK$13.5 MILLION) AND CHINA (UP 6 TIMES TO HK$603.3 MILLION).
AS REGARDS TRADE PERFORMANCE BY COMMODITY, THE COMMODITY GROUPS WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE GROWTH IN IMPORTS WERE WASTE, SCRAP AND SWEEPINGS OF PRECIOUS METALS OTHER THAN OF GOLD (UP 380 TIMES TO HK$6.6 MILLION) WHEREAS THE COMMODITY GROUP WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE GROWTH IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS WAS TIN (UP 20 TIMES TO HK$46.9 MILLION).
IMPORTS FROM BAHRAIN BY AIR SHOWED THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE GROWTH -- UP 637 TIMES TO HK$45.9 MILLION. IN RESPECT OF COMMODITY GROUPS, IMPORTS BY AIR WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE GROWTH WERE REFINED PETROLEUM PRODUCTS (UP 302 TIMES TO HK$75.2 MILLION).
THE UNIT VALUE AND QUANTUM INDEXES ARE USED TO ASSESS THE MOVEMENTS IN COMMODITY PRICES AND THE REAL CHANGE IN TRADE VOLUME. DURING 1979, WHILE THE IMPORT VALUES OF RAW COTTON AND HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT BOTH INCREASED, THE IMPORT VOLUME, AS MEASURED BY THE QUANTUM INDEXES, FELL BY 12 PER CENT AND 3 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
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