FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1988
17
EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS FOR APRIL RELEASED
TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN APRIL 1988, AT $76,772 MILLION, GREW BY 30 PER CENT IN VALUE TERMS COMPARED WITH APRIL 1987, ACCORDING TO THE DETAILED FIGURES ON TRADE VALUE FOR APRIL 1988 RELEASED TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
COMPARED WITH APRIL 1987, DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 10 PER CENT TO $16,055 MILLION IN APRIL 1988, WHILE RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 45 PER CENT TO $20,636 MILLION, THUS BRINGING TOTAL EXPORTS IN APRIL 1988 TO $36,691 MILLION, WHICH REPRESENTED AN INCREASED OF 27 PER CENT OVER APRIL 1987.
DURING THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, IMPORTS INCREASED BY 31
PER CENT TO $40,081 MILLION IN APRIL 1988.
CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED IN INTERPRETING THE TRADE FIGURES FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL MONTH IN 190LATION, IN VIEW OF THE FLUCTUATIONS THAT MAY OCCUR FROM MONTH TO MONTH.
DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO ALL MAJOR MARKETS INCREASED IN VALUE TERMS BETWEEN APRIL 1987 AND APRIL 1988, ALTHOUGH THE RATES OF INCREASE VARIED. SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH WAS RECORDED IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO SINGAPORE (+38 PER CENT), THE NETHERLANDS (+25 PER CENT), CHINA (+25 PER CENT), THE UNITED KINGDOM (+22 PER CENT). HOWEVER, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES GREW BY ONLY ONE PER CENT.
IMPORTS FROM ALL MAJOR SUPPLIERS INCREASED IN VALUE TERMS IN APRIL 1988 OVER APRIL 1987, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM THE U.S.A. (+41 PER CENT), SWITZERLAND (+37 PER CENT), THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA CENT), CHINA (+30 PER CENT) AND TAIWAN (+30 PER CENT).
(+36 PER
RE-EXPORTS TO JAPAN, THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, CHINA, TAIWAN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY IN VALUB TERMS OVER THE SAME PERIOD, BY 86 PER CENT, 63 PER CENT, 50 PER CENT, 44 PER CENT AND 39 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.
TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN JANUARY TO APRIL 1988, AT $272,676 MILLION, INCREASED BY 28 PER CENT AS COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1987. DURING THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 13 PER CENT TO $60,225 MILLION, WHILE RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 45 PER CENT TO $73,504 MILLION.
/THUS, THE