XN000022-1978-01-15 — Page 4

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 1978

3-

TRADE FIGURES FOR JAN-NOV 1977

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THE VALUE OF HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORTS FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY TO NOVEMBER LAST YEAR ROSE BY 6.4 PER CENT TO $31,427 MILLION COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1976, ACCORDING TO TRADE FIGURES RELEASED BY CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY.

THE FIGURES ALSO SHOWED THAT THE VALUE OF IMPORTS BETWEEN JANUARY AND NOVEMBER LAST YEAR INCREASED BY 11.6 PER CENT TO $43,785 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS UP BY 9.1 PER CENT TO $8,855 MILLION AS COMPARED WITH CORRESPONDING PERIOD IN 1976.

THE FOLLOWING TABLE SHOWS HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO TEN MAJOR MARKETS:

JAN.-NOV.

JAN.-NOV.

INCREASE/

1976

1977

DECREASE

(HK$MN

(HK$MN)

(HK$MN)

PERCENTAGE CHANGE

U.S.A.

10,260

12,284

+2,024

+ 19.7%

F.R. OF GERMANY

3,555

3,183

372

10.5%

UNITED KINGDOM

2,922

2,633

289

9.9%

JAPAN

1,306

1,270

37

-

2.8%

AUSTRALIA

1,261

1,144

117

9.3%

CANADA

1,291

1,075

216

16.7%

SINGAPORE

708

814

106

+ 14.9%

NETHERLANDS

658

662

4

+ 0.6%

SWEDEN

642

538

104

-

16.2%

SWITZERLAND AND

594

515

78

13.2%

LIECHTENSTEIN

DESPITE THE CONTINUING DROP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO A NUMBER OF MAJOR MARKETS, SOME SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENTS WERE OBSERVED. DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM, WEST GERMANY AND JAPAN FELL LESS SHARPLY IN COMPARISON WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF PREVIOUS MONTHS.

THE IMPROVEMENT IN EXPORTS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM APPEARED TO BE RELATIVELY MORE SIGNIFICANT.

EXPORTS TO OUR LARGEST TRADING PARTNER, THE U.S.A. CONTINUED WITH A REMARKABLE GROWTH RATE OF 19.7%, COMPRISING AN INCREASE OF $655 MILLION (+15.5%) IN CLOTHING, $274 MILLION (+31.7%) IN PLASTIC TOYS AND DOLLS $166 MILLION (+49.1%) IN ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AND PARTS FOR COMPUTERS AND ALSO $107 MILLION (+14.3%) IN TRANSISTORISED RADIOS.

/AN ANALYSIS