10.
Exports to China for the year totalled $302 million, com- Imports from China pared with $246 million in the previous year.
were valued at $465 million, against $373 million for the year before.
11.
The total value of all imports into Hong Kong increased by 29% compared with 1947/48, while exports from Hong Kong showed a rise of 37% (see Tables XX and XXI).
12. During the year the Colony participated for the first time in the British Industries Fair, and the success which attended this venture has encouraged the Colony's business community to exhibit again in 1949. Since this department was closely connected with the planning and organization, it can claim a fair share of the credit for the success of this enterprise.
13. In January, 1949 the printing of the Hong Kong monthly trade returns, which had been discontinued after the war, was resumed -and has been welcomed by the business community, which had been handicapped by the lack of complete statistics on the trade of the Colony.
III-Revenue.
14. A nett total of $43 million was collected (Table 1). Although this is $9 million less than the previous year, it should be explained that in October of that year a sum of $15 million had been paid in duty by one of the local tobacco manufacturers-un exceptional circumstance, and one which tends to distort the general picture.
15. With the exception of Tobacco, and Toilet Preparations and Proprietary Medicines, revenue collected showed an increase over the year before, and this is in keeping with the improved trade figures, which have already been mentioned.
16. A. Tobacco.
The increase in smuggling, already mentioned in last year's report, continued. Cigarettes seized totalled 2,867,638 pieces, whilst seizures of Chinese prepared tobacco were 8,965 lbs., compared with 10,913 lbs. in 1947 (Table XI).
17. B. Liquor.
as
Duties from liquor were $10,331,209, or roughly the same for the previous year (Tables III and IV). The Colony consumed 1,019,022 gallons of European type liquor during the year- slightly less than the consumption for the previous 12 months.
18. The smuggling of Chinese spirit into the Colony continued unabated, but the offensive carried on by the Revenue staff met with considerably more success than had been the case in the preceding
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year.
Seizures amounting to 13,268 gallons were made, a very satisfactory record, compared with the previous year's total of only 3,745 gallons seized. This increase is largely due to the fact that the majority of the Revenue staff joined the service after the war, and took some time to familiarise themselves with preventive work, but have now acquired a high degree of efficiency.
19. C. Hydrocarbon Oils.
Duty collected was $8,647,607, compared with the previous year's figure of $5,734,790-an increase of more than 50% (Table VII). No doubt the ever-growing number of motor vehicles in the Colony is responsible for this figure.
20. D. Toilet Preparations and Proprietary Medicines.
A total of $2,635,101 was collected under this head, a decrease of about $1 million compared with the previous year's figure of 53,926,241 (Table VIII).
21. In the latter part of 1947 the method of levying this tax was revised, and proprietary medicines were defined in such a way as to exclude ethical medicines which were not advertised to the public. These medicines had previously been paying duty, and the fall in revenue is thus accounted for.
22. E. Table Waters.
Duties amounted to $635,636, compared with $413,891 in the previous year (Table IX).
23. A. Opium.
IV-Dangerous Drugs.
The traffic in dangerous drugs continued to increase, and seizures of opium during the year amounted to 8,296 taels of raw, and 1,707 taels of prepared (Table XIV). There was only one seizure of Indian opium, when 672 taels were taken from the "LOK SANG" on her arrival from Calcutta in May, 1948. All other opium seized was of Chinese origin, mainly from the East River District of Kwangtung. The quality of this opium is poor compared with that grown in Yunnan, but is believed to be much cheaper than the latter. The biggest seizure of the year was made on the 23rd November, 1948, at the Hoi On Wharf when 1,029 taels of Chinese prepared opium were found hidden in 10 large cases of Chinese confectionery, which were about to be shipped to Manila. The opium was packed in one-tael tius, which were buried at the bottom of the containers, and covered with sweets. For this, and other notable seizures of opium, see Table XV. There was one prosecution for the growing of opium poppies in Hong Kong, when 2,332 plants were confiscated and destroyed.
24. B. Heroin.
Traffic in heroin, which had almost disappeared after the war. is now steadily on the increase. Since the preparation of diacetyl- morphine (heroin) calls for a great deal of technical knowledge, it is
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