SATURDAY, JULY 25, 1981
PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR JUNE 1981
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THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY PUBLISHED THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR HONG KONG'S VISIBLE TRADE IN JUNE 1981.
THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR JUNE WAS $10 097 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AT $6 831 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS AT $3 266 MILLION.
WITH IMPORTS AT $11 441 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR JUNE WAS $1 344 MILLION.
SO THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 1981 WAS $55 145 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF $35 608 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS OF $19 536 MILLION. WITH IMPORTS AT $65 639 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 1981 WAS $10 494 MILLION.
COMPARED WITH THE FIRST HALF OF 1980, THERE WERE THE FOLLOWING INCREASES BY VALUE: $4 486 MILLION OR 14.4 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, $6 299 MILLION OR 47.6 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS, $10 785 MILLION OR 24.3 PER CENT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS AND $13 666 MILLION OR 26.3 PER CENT FOR IMPORTS.
THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+, THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, WAS 16 PER CENT IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR, COMPARED WITH 14.6 PER CENT IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1980.
COMMENTING ON THE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE VISIBLE TRADE ACCOUNT SHOWED A FAIR DEGREE OF STABILITY IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR WITH THE GROWTH RATE OF TOTAL EXPORTS ROUGHLY IN LINE WITH THE GROWTH RATE OF IMPORTS. HE ADDED THAT THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY OUT OF LINE WITH THAT IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1980.
THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DOMESTIC EXPORT SECTOR WAS PARTICULARLY IMPRESSIVE.
THE GROWTH RATE IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR, ALTHOUGH LOW BY RECENT EXPERIENCE, WAS QUITE RESPECTABLE IN VIEW OF THE UNFAVOURABLE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS PREVAILING IN HONG KONG'S MAJOR EXPORT MARKETS.
THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ADDED THAT AS THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS HAVE BEEN STABLE SINCE THE END OF LAST YEAR, A LARGE PROPORTION (ABOUT HALF) OF THE 14.4 PER CENT GROWTH IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS REPRESENTED GROWTH IN REAL TERMS.
/CONCERNING THE