MONDAY, MAY 6, 1985
2
PRICE, VOLUME CHANGES IN FEBRUARY EXTERNAL TRADE
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THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 35 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY 1985 COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1984, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
WITHIN TOTAL EXPORTS, THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS ROSE BY 33 PER CENT WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 38 PER CENT. IMPORTS INCREASED BY TWO PER CENT IN VOLUME TERMS.
PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY THREE PER CENT AND SIX PER CENT RESPECTIVELY IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR COMPARED WITH THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR, SO THAT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS, PRICES
INCREASED BY FOUR PER CENT. PRICES OF IMPORTS, ON THE OTHER HAND, REMAINED AT ABOUT THE SAME LEVEL AS LAST YEAR.
AS A RESULT, THE TERMS OF TRADE INDEX (EXPRESSED AS A RATIO OF THE TOTAL EXPORT PRICE INDEX TO THE IMPORT PRICE INDEX) ROSE BY FIVE PER CENT.
COMMENTING ON THIS COMPARATIVE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT BECAUSE TRADE FIGURES FOR THE BEGINNING MONTHS OF A YEAR WERE USUALLY INFLUENCED BY THE TIMING OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR, IT WAS MORE USEFUL TO CONSIDER JANUARY AND FEBRUARY FIGURES TOGETHER.
COMPARING THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF THIS YEAR WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS GREW BY 11 PER CENT AND 39 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY IN VOLUME TERMS, WHILE IMPORTS GREW BY 11 PER CENT. OVER THE PERIOD, THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, RE-EXPORTS AND IMPORTS ROSE BY FIVE PER CENT, SEVEN PER CENT AND ONE PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1985 WITH THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1984, THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 15 PER CENT AND 32 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, GIVING A 21 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS. MEANWHILE, THE VOLUME OF IMPORTS ROSE BY 13 PER CENT.
PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, RE-EXPORTS AND IMPORTS ROSE, ON AVERAGE, BY 11 PER CENT, 12 PER CENT AND NINE PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
PRICES ARE BASED ON UNIT VALUES WHICH DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OR QUALITY OF GOODS TRADED. CHANGES IN THE VOLUME OF TRADE ARE DERIVED FROM CHANGES IN TRADE VALUES, AFTER DISCOUNTING THE EFFECT OF PRICE CHANGES.
THE CHANGES IN THE VALUE, UNIT VALUE AND VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS BY COMMODITY GROUP ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1.
AS SHOWN IN TABLE 1, THE EXPORT PRICES OF SOME COMMODITY GROUPS INCREASED IN FEBRUARY 1985 COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1984, RANGING FROM FIVE PER CENT FOR METAL MANUFACTURES TO 14 PER CENT FOR TEXTILE MADE-UPS AND RELATED ARTICLES.
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