10
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1988
HK AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT MARKET FOR AUSTRALIA: FS
HONG KONG WELCOMES IMPORTS FROM ALL SOURCES AND HOPES THAT AUSTRALIA WILL EQUALLY OPEN ITS DOORS TO OUR MARKETS IN RETURN. THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, MR PIERS JACOBS, SAID TODAY (THURSDAY).
SPEAKING AT A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, MR JACOBS EMPHASISED THAT HONG KONG PRACTISED FREE TRADE AND HAD NO TARIFFS OR OTHER TRADE BARRIERS.
HE SAID HONG KONG HAD BECOME AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT MARKET FOR AUSTRALIA AND WAS AUSTRALIA'S SEVENTH LARGEST EXPORT MARKET.
IN 1987, HE SAID, HONG KONG IMPORTED ABOUT $4.8
OF GOODS, EXCLUDING GOLD, FROM AUSTRALIA.
BILLION WORTH
CENT OF HONG
"THE GOLD WE IMPORTED REPRESENTED ABOUT 18 PER KONG'S TOTAL IMPORTS OF THIS COMMODITY, AND SHOWED A STAGGERING INCREASE OF ABOUT 660 PER CENT OVER THE 1986 LEVEL, HE SAID.
HE ADDED THAT IN THE FIRST FIVE IMPORTS FROM AUSTRALIA INCREASED BY 84 SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
rt
MONTIIS OF THIS YEAR, TOTAL PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE
"THESE ARE HIGH FIGURES BY ANY STANDARDS, HE SAID.
MR JACOBS SAID HONG KONG WAS BECOMING AN IMPORTANT MARKET FOR AUSTRALIAN MEAT AND LIVESTOCK, WHICH WERE AUSTRALIA'S FIFTH LARGEST COMMODITY FOR EXPORT.
"AUSTRALIA SAID,
IS OUR LARGEST
'
HE "AS A MATTER OF FACT, OVERALL SUPPLIER OF BEEF.
זי
ON RE-EXPORTS, MR JACOBS SAID THAT
AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTS THROUGH HONG KONG, SIGNIFICANTLY, AND AUSTRALIA ALSO SUPPLIED HONG KONG USED FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION.
LAST YEAR, RE-EXPORTS OF MAINLY TO CHINA, GREW MUCH OF THE COAL WHICH
HOWEVER, MR JACOBS SAID IT WAS A PITY THAT HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO AUSTRALIA HAD NOT DONE SO WELL IN COMPARISON.
"LAST YEAR, AUSTRALIA SLIPPED DOWN TO BEING OUR 10TH LARGEST MARKET FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, AFTER BEING IN SEVENTH PLACE IN 1986. AT PRESENT, EXPORTS TO THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET REPRESENT ONLY 1.5 PER CENT OF OUR TOTAL TRADE," HE SAID.
HE SAID ONE POSSIBLE REASON WAS THAT OUR LEADERS, TEXTILES AND CLOTHING, HAD NOT BEEN тоо AUSTRALIAN MARKET.
TRADITIONAL EXPORT SUCCESSFUL IN THE
"INDEED, LAST