XN000022-1977-08-26 — Page 2

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1977

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR JULY

*****

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY PUBLISHED THE PROVISIONAL FIGURES FOR HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL MERCHANDISE TRADE DURING LAST MONTH. THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS FOR JULY WAS $3,396 MILLION, IMPORTS WERE WORTH $4,239 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS, 3816 MILLION.

THE FIGURES FOR THE PERIOD MAY TO JULY (LATEST THREE MONTHS) SHOWED INCREASES, BY VALUE, COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1976 OF 9 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, 11.5 PER CENT FOR IMPORTS AND 9.3 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS.

COMPARED WITH THE SAME MONTH IN 1976, INCREASES, BY VALUE, OF $400 MILLION OR 13.3 PER CENT IN EXPORTS, $535 MILLION OR 14.5 PER CENT IN IMPORTS AND $68 MILLION OR 9.1 PER CENT IN RE-EXPORTS WERE RECORDED.

THE SHORT-TERM CHANGES, JULY COMPARED WITH JUNE, SHOWED INCREASES OF $466 MILLION OR 15.9 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, $248 MILLION OR 6.2 PER CENT FOR IMPORTS AND $10 MILLION OR 1.2 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS.

+THE CONSIDERABLE INCREASE IN THIS MONTH'S DOMESTIC EXPORTS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE SEASONAL RISE USUALLY BEGINNING AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT SAID.

THE FIGURES FOR THE 12-MONTH PERIOD FROM AUGUST 1976 TO JULY 1977 COMPARED WITH THOSE OF THE PREVIOUS 12-MONTH PERIOD SHOWED INCREASES, BY VALUE, OF 18.1 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, 16.4 PER CENT FOR IMPORTS AND 14.6 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS.

THE FOLLOWING TABLES GIVE THE COMPARATIVE FIGURES:

LATEST 3 MONTHS

-

INCREASE OR DECREASE

MAY - JULY 1977

MAY JULY 1976

$ MN.

$ MN.

$ MN.

5%

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

9,284

8,519

765

+ 9.0

IMPORTS

12,408

11,124

+1,283

*11.ང

RE-EXPORTS

2,443

2,236

208 + 9.3

JULY

JULY

SAME MONTH LAST YEAR

1977

1976

INCREASE OR

DECREASE

3 MN.

> MN.

3 MN.

5%

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

3,396

(% OF TOTAL EXPORTS)

(80.6%)

2,996 (80.0%)

400

+13.3

IMPORTS

4,239

3,704

535

+14.5

RE-EXPORTS

816

(% OF TOTAL EXPORTS)

(19.4%)

747 (20.0%)

68

+ 9.1

/LAST MONTH