XN000022-1978-05-16 — Page 8

- 7

7 -

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 1978

THE FOLLOWING TABLE ILLUSTRATES THE IMPORTANT CHANGES IN IMPORTS BY COMMODITY SECTIONS:-

JAN.-MAR. JAN.-MAR.

1977

1978 (HK$ MN.) (HK$ MN.)

INCREASE/ PERCENTAGE

DECREASE (HK$ MN.) CHANGE

MANUFACTURED GOODS CLASSI-

FIED CHIEFLY BY MATERIAL (MAINLY TEXTILE PRODUCTS AND DIAMONDS)

3,269

4,011

+742

+22.7%%%

MACHINERY AND TRANSPORT

EQUIPMENT

2,173

2,578

+405

+18.6

FOOD AND LIVE ANIMALS

CHIEFLY FOR FOOD

1,709

1,838

+129

+ 7.5%

MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURED

ARTICLES (MAINLY WATCHES

AND CLOCKS, ARTICLES OF APPAREL)

1,297

1,668

+371

+28.6%

CHEMICALS AND RELATED

PRODUCTS

346

930

+ 83

+ 9.9%

IN TERMS OF INDIVIDUAL COMMODITIES, IMPORTS OF TEXTILE FABRICS AND TEXTILE YARK WERE VALUED AT $1,029 MILLION, (+18.5 PER CENT) AND $614 MILLION (+11.8 PER CENT) RESPECTIVELY.

THERE WAS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE IMPORTS OF PEARLS, PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES (#777 MILLION) WHICH REGISTERED A 50.8 PER CENT INCREASE IN VALUE.

OTHER REMARKABLE ADVANCES IN IMPORTS WERE RECORDED IN WATCHES AND CLOCKS (587 MILLION, +37.1 PER CENT), ROAD VEHICLES (333 MILLION, +47.3 PER CENT) AND OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (0282 MILLION, +38.4 PER CENT).

RE-EXPORTS TO JAPAN AMOUNTED TO $432 MILLION, AN INCREASE

OF 16.1 PER CENT OVER THE SAKE PERICE LAST YEAR.

THE BULK OF INCREASE OCCURRED I PEARLS PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES (161 MILLION, +62.8 PER CENT) AND TEXTILE FIBRES ($29 MILLION, +819.8 PER CENT).

WITH INCREASING RE-EXPORTS OF MOTOR VEHICLES, THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS TO INDONESIA EARLY DOUBLED (324 :ÍLLION, +39.2 PER CENT).

SIMILARLY, FAVOURABLE GROWTH RATES WERE REGISTERED IN: RE~ EXPORTS TO SINGAPORE (310 FILL FOX, +25.9 PER CENT) AND U.S.A. (237 BILLION, +21.6 PER CENT).

18