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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1981
ANALYSIS OF MERCHANDISE TRADE STATISTICS RE-CLASS IF IED BY INDUSTRIAL ORIGIN FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1981
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THE CLASSIFICATION OF COMMODITY ITEMS BY INDUSTRIAL ORIGIN IS STRUCTURED UPON THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL STANDARD CLASS IF ICATION OF ALL ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES (ISIC), AS DISTINCT FROM THE UNITED NATIONS STANDARD INTERNATIONAL TRADE CLASS IF ICATION (SITC) WHICH IS ADOPTED IN THE REGULAR TRADE STATISTICS REPORTS.
AN ALTERNATIVE CLASSIFICATION BY PRODUCING INDUSTRIES MAY BE USEFUL FOR EXAMINING THE CHANGING RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES BASED ON EXPORT SALES, FOR STUDYING IMPORT PENETRATION, AND FOR COMPARING EXTERNAL TRADE DATA WITH INFORMATION COLLECTED FROM INDUSTRIAL ENQUIRIES.
WHEN INTERPRETING THE RE-CLASSIFIED TRADE FIGURES, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT AN EXPORTED COMMODITY REQUIRING SEVERAL INTERMEDIATE PROCESSING STAGES IS WHOLLY ALLOCATED TO THE INDUSTRY IN WHICH IT IS FINALLY PRODUCED, BUT THAT INDUSTRY WILL NOT NORMALLY BE THE SOLE CONTRIBUTOR TO ITS OVERALL EXPORT VALUE.
FURTHERMORE, THE CLASSIFICATION OF AN EXPORTED COMMODITY TO A PARTICULAR INDUSTRY DOES NOT IMPLY THAT THE ENTIRE LOT OF SUCH COMMODITY IS ACTUALLY PRODUCED BY ESTABLISHMENTS OF THAT INDUSTRY, SINCE SOME MAY BE SECONDARY PRODUCTS PRODUCED BY ESTABLISHMENTS CLASSIFIED ELSEWHERE.
FINALLY, WHILE THE VALUE OF IMPORTS OF A PARTICULAR COMMODITY IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE INDUSTRY OF WHICH THE COMMODITY IS A PRINCIPAL PRODUCT, IT WILL BE ERRONEOUS TO REGARD THAT INDUSTRY AS IMPORTER OF THE COMMODITY CONCERNED.
FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, THE SIX MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRY GROUPS WERE WEARING APPAREL, ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND ELECTRONICS TEXTILES, PROFESSIONAL AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT, PLASTIC PRODUCTS, AND METAL PRODUCTS. THEY TOGETHER ACCOUNTED FOR 87 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1981.
THE LARGEST INCREASES IN TERMS OF ABSOLUTE VALUES OVER THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1980 OCCURRED IN ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND ELECTRONICS ($864 MILLION), TEXTILES ($547 MILLION), WEARING APPAREL ($358 MILLION), AND PROFESSIONAL AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT ($258 MILLION). IN PERCENTAGE TERMS, THE HIGHEST INCREASES WERE BEVERAGES (263 PER CENT) TRANSPORT ÉQUIPMENT (124 PER CENT) FOOTWEAR (47 PER CENT), TOBACCO (44 PER CENT), AND PRODUCTS OF PETROLEUM AND COAL (41 PER CENT). SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE RECORDED FOR METAL PRODUCTS ($75 MILLION) IN TERMS OF ABSOLUTE VALUES, AND IN MINING AND QUARRYING (-79 PER CENT) WHEN EXPRESSED IN PERCENTAGE TERMS.
FOR IMPORTS, PRODUCTS OF TEXTILES, ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND ELECTRONICS, PETROLEUM AND COAL, CHEMICALS, PROFESSIONAL AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT, METALS, AND FOOD INDUSTRIES TOGETHER ACCOUNTED FOR 66 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF IMPORTS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1981.
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