SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1980
2
COMMENTING ON THE AUGUST TRADE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SAID IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL FOR A SURPLUS TO BE RECORDED IN AUGUST. IN AUGUST LAST YEAR, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A SURPLUS IN THE VISIBLE TRADE ACCOUNT AMOUNTING TO $215 MILLION.
HE POINTED OUT THAT, WHILE THE GROWTH RATE OF RE-EXPORTS IN AUGUST CONTINUED TO BE RAPID, THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS APPEARED TO HAVE SLOWED DOWN AS EXPECTED. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE VIEW THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TOOK WHEN PUTTING HIS REVISED FORECAST FOR THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN REAL TERMS FOR THE YEAR AS A WHOLE AT 14 PER CENT, GIVEN THAT THE GROWTH RATE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR HAD BEEN 18 PER CENT.
THE SPOKESMAN ADDED THAT AS THE GROWTH RATE OF IMPORTS WAS ALSO SLOWING DOWN, THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ -- THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS WHICH IS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS -- SHOWED NO SIGN OF WIDENING. THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ FOR THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, AT 11.7 PER CENT, WAS SLIGHTLY NARROWER THAN THE 12 PER CENT RECORDED IN THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 1979.
THE PROVISIONAL MERCHANDISE TRADE FIGURES FOR AUGUST WERE :
$6 769 MILLION
MERCHANDISE :
DOMESTIC EXPORTS
RE-EXPORTS
$2 696 MILLION
TOTAL EXPORTS
1
$9 465 MILLION
IMPORTS
$9 448 MILLION
TRADE BALANCE
$
17 MILLION (IN SURPLUS)
COMPARATIVE FIGURES
LATEST THREE MONTHS
JUNE-AUGUST
1980
JUNE-AUGUST
1979
INCREASE OR DECREASE
$ MN.
$ MN.
$ MN.
%
DOMESTIC EXPORTS
18 920
15 548
+3 372
+21.7
RE-EXPORTS
7 491
5 151
+2 339
+45.4
TOTAL EXPORTS
26 411
20 699
+5 712
+27.6
IMPORTS
27 408
21 823
+5 585 +25.6
TRADE BALANCE
997
-1 124
127
/SAME MONTH