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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 1983
PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR JANUARY
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THE VALUE OF HONG KONG'S TOTAL EXPORTS FOR JANUARY 1983 WAS $10 158 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AT $6 440 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS AT $3 718 MILLION, ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR THE MONTH PUBLISHED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
WITH IMPORTS AT $11 537 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR JANUARY WAS $1 379 MILLION.
COMPARED WITH THE SAME MONTH IN 1982, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY $600 MILLION OR SIX PER CENT, COMPRISING INCREASES OF $201 MILLION OR THREE PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND $399 MILLION OR 12 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS.
THE VALUE OF IMPORTS ALSO INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BY $1 514 MILLION OR 15 PER CENT.
COMMENTING ON THE JANUARY TRADE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN STRESSED THAT TRADE FIGURES FOR THE BEGINNING MONTHS OF THE YEAR SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CARE AS THEY ARE VERY MUCH INFLUENCED BY THE TIMING OF THE LUNAR NEW YEAR.
HE POINTED OUT THAT THE SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE VALUE OF IMPORTS IN JANUARY WAS IN PART SEASONAL, DUE TO ANTICIPATION OF HIGHER RETAIL SALES DURING THE LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL IN FEBRUARY,
BUT HE NOTED THAT IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI- MANUFACTURES HAD ALSO SHOWN SOME SIGNS OF PICKING UP.
FURTHERMORE, IT WAS ENCOURAGING THAT THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS HAD RECORDED DOUBLE-DIGIT YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH RATES FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE MONTHS.
HOWEVER, THE SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT, BECAUSE OF THE SUBSTANTIAL ÎNCREASE IN THE IMPORT BILL IN JANUARY, THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP (THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS) WIDENED TO 12 PER CENT FROM 4.6 PER CENT IN JANUARY 1982.
/PUTTING THIS