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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1984
GOVERNOR RETURNS
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THE FACT THAT NO DATE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF TALKS ON THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG IS NO CAUSE FOR CONCERN, SAID THE GOVERNOR, SIR EDWARD YOUDE, ON HIS ARRIVAL IN THE TERRITORY THIS (THURSDAY) EVENING.
SIR EDWARD WAS MET AT THE AIRPORT BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY SIR PHILIP HADDON-CAVE, SENIOR UNOFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, SIR S.Y. CHUNG, AND THE SENIOR UNOFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, MR ROGER LOBO..
SPEAKING TO REPORTERS SIR EDWARD SAID:
+WE HAVE HAD, AS USUAL, ANOTHER TWO BUSY AND USEFUL DAYS. YOU WILL HAVE NOTICED THAT THIS TIME WE DIDN'T ANNOUNCE THE DATES OF THE NEXT SEPTEMBER ROUND. BUT LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT THERE IS NO CAUSE FOR CONCERN IN THAT. WE ARE, AS YOU KNOW, AIMING TO COMPLETE OUR WORK BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
+THE TWO WORK ING GROUPS ARE VERY BUSY AND HARD AT IT AND SO WE THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD MAINTAIN A BIT OF FLEXIBILITY THIS TIME AND NOT FIX THE EXACT DATES STRAIGHT AWAY. BUT THERE IS REALLY NOTHING MORE TO IT THAN THAT, IT IS JUST MAINTAINING A BIT OF FLEXIBILITY SO THAT WE CAN DECIDE IN THE LIGHT OF THE PROGRESS OF THE WORK IN THE WORKING GROUPS ETCETERA. AND, IN THE MEANWHILE, OF COURSE, WE SHALL BE MAKING ANOTHER VISIT TO LONDON WITH OUR UNOFFICIAL COLLEAGUES. WE SHALL BE LEAVING FAIRLY EARLY IN THE WEEK, I EXPECT, AND WE WILL BE BACK BY THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND. I THINK THAT IS ABOUT ALL I HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS EVENING.+
EXPORT PRICES RISE
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PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, RE-EXPORTS, AND TOTAL EXPORTS ALL ROSE, ON AVERAGE, BY 16 PER CENT IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR, AS COMPARED WITH PRICES FOR THE SAME PERIOD IN 1983.
MEANWHILE, THE PRICES OF IMPORTS ALSO ROSE BY 16 PER CENT.
AS A RESULT, THE TERMS OF TRADE INDEX (EXPRESSED AS A RATIO OF THE TOTAL EXPORT PRICE INDEX TO THE IMPORT PRICE INDEX) REMAINED AT THE SAME LEVEL AS IN THE FIRST HALF OF LAST YEAR, A CENSUS AND STATISTICS SPOKESMAN REVEALED TODAY.
THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS ROSE BY 25 PER CENT AND THAT OF RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 34 PER CENT, SO THAT A 28 PER CENT INCREASE WAS RECORDED IN THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS. MEANWHILE, THE VOLUME OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY 19 PER CENT, HE SAID.
/A COMPARISON