XN000022-1978-04-11 — Page 4

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TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1978

HONG KONG EXPORTS BY AIR RISE

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MORE THAN ONE-FIFTH OR OVER $7,600 MILLION WORTH OF HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE SHIPPED BY AIR LAST YEAR AN INCREASE OF 5.5 PER CENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

ACCORDING TO TRADE FIGURES RELEASED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY, AIRBORNE IMPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS WERE VALUED AT $8,144 MILLION AND $2,902 MILLION RESPECTIVELY IN 1977. IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGE SHARES, ABOUT 17 PER CENT OF IMPORTS AND 30 PER CENT OF RE-EXPORTS WERE HANDLED BY AIR LAST YEAR.

ABOUT HALF OF THE AIRBORNE EXPORTS, OR $3,713 MILLION BY VALUE, WENT TO THE UNITED STATES.

AIRBORNE EXPORTS TO F.R. OF GERMANY AND CANADA DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY, WHILE CONSIDERABLE GROWTH RATES WERE RECORDED FOR JAPAN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM.

THE MAJOR COMMODITIES EXPORTED BY AIR WERE NON-FUR CLOTHING, WHICH SHOWED A CONSIDERABLE DROP FROM $2,990 MILLION IN 1976 TO $2,632 MILLION LAST YEAR AND WATCHES AND CLOCKS WHICH INCREASED TREMENDOUSLY BY 38 PER CENT TO $1,499. MILLION.

OTHER MAJOR COMMODITIES EXPORTED BY AIR WERE ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AND PARTS FOR COMPUTERS ($676 MILLION, +46.3 PER CENT), JEWELLERY AND GOLDSMITHS' AND SILVERSMITHS' WARES ($449 MILLION, +10.6 PER CENT), TRANSISTORS AND DIODES ($378 MILLION, +8.9 PER CENT), SEMI-CONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS ($248 MILLION, -6.4 PER CENT), PERAMBULATORS, TOYS, GAMES AND SPORTING GOODS ($215 MILLION, +11.4 PER CENT), SCIENTIFIC, MEDICAL AND OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS ($203 MILLION, +59.8 PER CENT), AND FUR CLOTHING ($190 MILLION, +31.9 PER CENT).

FOLLOWING IS THE TABLE SHOWING HONG KONG'S AIRBORNE EXPORTS TO ITS FIVE MAJOR MARKETS IN 1977 COMPARED WITH 1976:-

AIRBORNE EXPORTS IN 1977 PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN VALUE

MAIN MARKETS

(HK$ MILLION)

U.S.A.

3,713

F.R. OF GERMANY

819

JAPAN

444

UNITED KINGDOM

403

CANADA

249

1977/1976

+ 9.5%

-

- 6.9%

+ 8.8%

+16,8%

-28.1%

/IMPORTS BY .****