-
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1985
PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER
****
THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS GREW BY $717 MILLION OR 9 PER CENT IN NOVEMBER 1985 OVER NOVEMBER 1984 TO REACH $8 724 MILLION, WHILE THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS FELL BY $251 MILLION OR 2 PER CENT TO $11 450 MILLION, ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES PUBLISHED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY $466 MILLION OR 2 PER CENT TO $20 174 MILLION IN NOVEMBER 1985. MEANWHILE, THE VALUE OF IMPORTS GREW BY $586 MILLION OR 3 PER CENT TO $20 333 MILLION.
IN CONSEQUENCE, A VISIBLE TRADE GAP (THAT IS, THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS) OF 0.8 PER CENT WAS RECORDED IN NOVEMBER 1985, COMPARED WITH 0.2 PER CENT IN NOVEMBER 1984.
PUTTING THE MONTH'S TRADE FIGURES INTO CONTEXT, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 1985 WAS $213 362 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF $117 556 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS OF $95 806 MILLION.
COMPARED WITH THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 1984, THE VALUES OF TOTAL EXPORTS AND OF RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 6 PER CENT AND 29 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, WHILE THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS FELL BY 7 PER CENT. OVER THIS PERIOD THE VALUE OF IMPORTS GREW BY 3 PER CENT TO $209 256 MILLION.
A VISIBLE TRADE SURPLUS, EQUIVALENT TO 2 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED FOR THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, COMPARED WITH A VISIBLE TRADE GAP OF 1 PER CENT IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT THE RELATIVELY LOW GROWTH RATES OF THE ECONOMIES OF HONG KONG'S EXPORT MARKETS, IN PARTICULAR THE UNITED STATES, HAVE LARGELY CONTRIBUTED TO THE SLUGGISH DOMESTIC EXPORT PERFORMANCE SO FAR THIS YEAR.
HOWEVER, HE NOTED THAT THE DECLINE IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS APPEARED TO HAVE BOTTOMED OUT AND THAT THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS SHOWED ONLY A SMALL DECLINE IN NOVEMBER 1985 COMPARED WITH NOVEMBER 1984.
MEANWHILE, THE GROWTH RATE OF RE-EXPORTS HAS ALSO SLOWED DOWN IN RECENT MONTHS, REFLECTING CHINA'S MORE STRINGENT CONTROLS ON FOREIGN EXCHANGE SPENDING.
/THE FOLLOWING