7
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1993
PROVISIONAL FIGURES OF EXTERNAL TRADE FOR JANUARY
RE-EXPORTS LAST MONTH (JANUARY) MAINTAINED A STRONG GROWTH, WHILE DOMESTIC EXPORTS REGISTERED ONLY A SMALL INCREASE IN VALUE OVER JANUARY LAST YEAR.
AT THE SAME TIME, THE VALUE OF IMPORTS CONTINUED ΤΟ GROW
MARKEDLY.
THESE ARE SHOWN IN THE PROVISIONAL FIGURES OF EXTERNAL TRADE RELEASED TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS IN JANUARY 1993 ROSE BY $10,157 MILLION OR 26% OVER A YEAR EARLIER TO $49,165 MILLION.
THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY $394 MILLION OR 2.8% TO $14,559 MILLION.
TAKING RE-EXPORTS AND DOMESTIC EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN JANUARY 1993 GREW BY $10,551 MILLION OR 19.8% OVER A YEAR EARLIER TO $63,724 MILLION.
OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE VALUE OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY $7,442 MILLION OR 13.3% TO $63,350 MILLION,
AS THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS WAS LARGER THAN THAT OF IMPORTS, A VISIBLE TRADE SURPLUS OF $374 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN JANUARY 1993.
TOTAL 0.6%
THIS COMPARED WITH A DEFICIT OF $2,735 MILLION, EQUIVALENT то 4.9% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN JANUARY 1992.
COMMENTING ON THE JANUARY TRADE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SAID RETAINED IMPORTS DECREASED MODERATELY BY 4.7% IN VALUE TERMS OVER A YEAR EARLIER, AS TRADERS HAD PROBABLY ADVANCED THEIR IMPORT SHIPMENT TO DECEMBER 1992 IN ANTICIPATION OF THE HIGHER DEMAND DURING THE LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL.
THUS TAKING THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1993 TOGETHER, RETAINED IMPORTS ATTAINED A YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE OF 8.9% IN VALUE TERMS, IN LINE WITH THE ROBUST DOMESTIC DEMAND.
A SEPARATE ANALYSIS OF HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL TRADE BY COMMODITY AND COUNTRY FOR JANUARY WILL BE RELEASED IN MID-MARCH.
/PRIVISIONAL FIGURES