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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1986
SIX-MONTH EXTERNAL TRADE FIGURES RELEASED
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TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE FOR JANUARY-JUNE 1986, VALUED AT 241 740 MILLION, INCREASED BY 7 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 8 PER CENT TO $65 374 MILLION WHILE RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 1 PER CENT TO $53 033 MILLION, SO THAT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS, THE TRADE VALUE INCREASED BY 5 PER CENT. IMPORTS INCREASED BY 9 PER CENT TO $123 334 MILLION.
TRADE STATISTICS PRESENTED HERE ARE MEASURED AT CURRENT PRICES AND NO ACCOUNT HAS BEEN TAKEN OF THE CHANGES IN PRICES BETWEEN THE PERIODS OF COMPARISON. A SEPARATE ANALYSIS OF THE PRICE AND VOLUME MOVEMENTS OF EXTERNAL TRADE FOR JANUARY TO JUNE 1986 WILL BE RELEASED EARLY NEXT MONTH.
CHANGES IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE TEN MAJOR MARKETS ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1.
COMPARING THE FIRST HALF OF 1986 WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE U.S. INCREASED BY 7 PER CENT. ANALYSED BY COMMODITY, INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN CLOTHING (BY $716 MILLION OR 6 PER CENT), MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURED ARTICLES, INCLUDING MAINLY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND PARTS AND ACCESSORIES THEREOF (BY $458 MILLION OR 11 PER CENT) AS WELL AS OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $235 MILLION OR 14 PER CENT).
ON THE OTHER HAND, DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES AND ELECTRICAL PARTS THEREOF (BY $224 MILLION OR 8 PER CENT) AS WELL AS TRAVEL GOODS, HANDBAGS AND SIMILAR CONTAINERS (BY $74 MILLION OR 21 PER CENT).
MOST COMMODITIES EXPORTED TO CHINA DECREASED IN VALUE, PARTICULARLY OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $839 MILLION OR 90 PER CENT), TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $503 MILLLON OR 36 PER CENT) AS WELL AS ELECTRICAL MACHINERY. APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES AND ELECTRICAL PARTS THEREOF (BY $194 MILLION OR 32 PER CENT).
HOWEVER, INCREASES WERE REGISTERED FOR TEXTILES (BY $472 MILLION OR 52 PER CENT) AND MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURED ARTICLES, INCLUDING MAINLY BABY CARRIAGES, TOYS, GAMES AND SPORTING GOODS (BY $97 MILLION OR 10 PER CENT).
/INCREASES