FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1985
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6.
PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR APRIL
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THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN APRIL 1985, AT $9 660 MILLION, DECREASED BY 7.5 PER CENT OR $788 MILLION COMPARED WITH APRIL 1984, WHILE THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS CONTINUED TO GROW RAPIDLY, BY 56 PER CENT OR $3 409 MILLION TO $9 499 MILLION, ACCORDING TO PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES PUBLISHED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, AT $19 159 MILLION, WAS 16 PER CENT OR $2 621 MILLION HIGHER THAN IN APRIL 1984.
THE VALUE OF IMPORTS GREW BY SEVEN PER CENT OR $1 269 MILLION OVER APRIL 1984 TO REACH $19 798 MILLION,
AS THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS GREW AT A FASTER RATE THAN THAT OF IMPORTS, THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP, THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THAT OF TOTAL EXPORTS, NARROWED TO THREE PER CENT IN APRIL 1985 FROM 11 PER CENT IN APRIL 1984.
PUTTING THE MONTH'S TRADE FIGURES INTO CONTEXT, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 1985 WAS $73 608 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF $38 635 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS OF $34 973 MILLION.
COMPARED WITH THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 1984, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY $11 233 MILLION OR 18 PER CENT, DOMESTIC EXPORTS BY $72 MILLION OR 0.2 PER CENT, AND RE-EXPORTS BY $11 161 MILLION OR 47 PER CENT. THE VALUE OF IMPORTS GREW BY $6 486 MILLION, OR 10 PER CENT, TO $73 798 MILLION.
AS THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS GREW AT A FASTER RATE THAN THAT OF IMPORTS, THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP FOR THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 1985 NARROWED TO 0.3 PER CENT, FROM SEVEN PER CENT FOR THE CORRESPONDING PER JOD IN 1984.
COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT THE YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, AFTER PEAKING IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1984, SLOWED DOWN DURING THE REST OF THE YEAR, AND THIS TREND CONTINUED INTO THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 1985.
THE SLOWING DOWN IN THE GROWTH RATE OF THE UNITED STATES ECONUMY AND THE STRENGTH OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR BOTH CONTRIBUTED TO THE RELATIVELY POOR PERFORMANCE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF THIS YEAR. ON THE OTHER HAND, RE-EXPORTS CONTINUED TO RECORD VERY HIGH GROWTH RATES, ILLUSTRATING HONG KONG'S INCREASING ROLE AS AN ENTREPOT.
/THE FOLLOWING