XN000022-1978-04-19 — Page 4

3

I

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1978

RE-EXPORTS OF CONSUMER GOODS, WHICH ACCOUNTED FOR 43.7 PER CENT OF TOTAL RE-EXPORTS IN 1977, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 5.4 PER CENT IN VALUE.

SIGNIFICANT INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN RE-EXPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS, CAPITAL GOODS AND FUELS.

THE SHARP FALL IN RE-EXPORTS OF FOODSTUFFS WAS LARGELY ATTRIBUTED TO AN UPSURGE IN PRICES FOR TEA AND COFFEE WHICH HAD THE EFFECT OF DEPRESSING THE DEMAND FOR THESE COMMODITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

CHINA WAS THE PRINCIPAL SUPPLIER OF HONG KONG'S RE-EXPORTS IN THE PAST YEARS. RE-EXPORTS OF CHINA ORIGIN, COMPRISING MAINLY TEXTILE MAKE-UP ARTICLES, CRUDE VEGETABLE MATERIALS, CLOTHING AND TEXTILE YARN AND THREAD, WERE VALUED AT $2,492 MILLION

(+3.7 PER CENT), OF WHICH $400 MILLION WERE DESTINED TO INDONESIA $282 MILLION TO U.S.A., $275 MILLION TO SINGAPORE AND $243 MILLION TO JAPAN.

RE-EXPORTS OF JAPAN ORIGIN ROSE SIGNIFICANTLY FROM $1,225 MILLION IN 1976 TO $1,735 MILLION IN 1977, REPRESENTING AN INCREASE OF 41.6 PER CENT. THE BULK OF INCREASES OCCURRED IN MOTOR VEHICLES, WATCHES AND CLOCKS.

THE RE-EXPORTS OF JAPAN ORIGIN WERE MAINLY CONSIGNED TO INDONESIA ($383 MILLION, + 291.4 PER CENT), SINGAPORE ($292 MILLION, + 8.3 PER CENT) AND THE U.S. ($177 MILLION, 30.2 PER CENT).

+

OTHER MAIN SOURCES OF SUPPLY OF HONG KONG RE-EXPORTS WERE, IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE, U.S.A. ($1,249 MILLION, + 1 PER CENT) SWITZERLAND AND LIECHTENSTEIN ($415 MILLION, +10.7%), TAIWAN ($362 MILLION, +40.6 PER CENT) AND F.R. OF GERMANY ($257 MILLION, + 13.1 PER CENT).

14