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TUESDAY, MAY 24, 1988
PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR APRIL RELEASED
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HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS CONTINUED TO GROW RAPIDLY IN APRIL 1988.
FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, WHILE THE YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE IN APRIL PICKED UP SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THAT IN MARCH, THE FIGURE STILL REPRESENTED A SLOW-DOWN COMPARED WITH THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATE FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1988 AS A WHOLE.
THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE SHOWN IN THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES RELEASED TODAY (TUESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN APRIL 1988 WAS $16,055 MILLION, $1,516 MILLION OR 10.4 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN APRIL 1987, WHILE THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 44.8 PER CENT OR $6,381 MILLION TO $20.636 MILLION.
THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS (DOMESTIC EXPORTS PLUS RE-EXPORTS) + AT $36,691 MILLION IN APRIL 1988, WAS, THUS, 27.4 PER CENT OR $7,897 MILLION HIGHER THAN IN APRIL 1987.
THE VALUE OF IMPORTS GREW BY 31.5 PER CENT OR $9,592 MILLION OVER THE YEAR, TO $40,081 MILLION IN APRIL 1988.
AS THE VALUE OF IMPORTS IN APRIL 1988 GREW FASTER THAN THAT OF TOTAL EXPORTS, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT WAS LARGER IN APRIL 1988 THAN IN THE SAME MONTH IN 1987.
IN APRIL 1988, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT STOOD AT $3,390 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 8.5 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS.
THIS COMPARES WITH A DEFICIT OF $1,695 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 5.6 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN APRIL 1987.
CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED IN INTERPRETING THE TRADE FIGURES FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL MONTH IN 1SOLATION, IN VIEW OF THE FLUCTUATIONS THAT MAY OCCUR FROM MONTH TO MONTH.
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