XN000022-1980-05-17 — Page 6

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SATURDAY, MAY 17, 1980

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A MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT INCREASES IN IMPORTS WERE MAINLY OF PETROLEUM AND RELATED PRODUCTS (BY $888 MILLION OR 116 PER CENT), TEXTILES (BY $523 MILLION OR 20 PER CENT), ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES (BY $437 MILLION OR 37 PER CENT), ARTIFICIAL RESINS AND PLASTIC MATERIALS AND CELLULOSE ESTERS AND ETHERS (BY $394 MILLION OR 94 PER CENT), AND WATCHES AND CLOCKS (BY $378 MILLION OR 45 PER CENT).

AS TO RE-EXPORTS, SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH WAS RECORDED IN RE-EXPORTS TO CHINA (BY $500 MILLION OR 309 PER CENT), U.K. (BY $242 MILLION OR 515 PER CENT), NIGERIA (BY $97 MILLION OR 166 PER CENT), SWITZERLAND (BY $92 MILLION OR 105 PER CENT), AND THE F.R. OF GERMANY (BY $90 MILLION OR 121 PER CENT).

INCREASES WERE MAINLY REGISTERED IN RE-EXPORTS OF NON-FERROUS METALS (BY $215 MILLION OR 360 PER CENT), WATCHES AND CLOCKS (BY $152 MILLION OR 64 PER CENT) CLOTHING (BY $134 MILLION OR 90 PER CENT), ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES (BY $119 MILLION OR 52 PER CENT), TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $108 MILLION OR 98 PER CENT), AND ROAD VEHICLES (BY $73 MILLION OR 78 PER CENT).

THE TRADE INDEX NUMBERS FOR FEBRUARY 1980 (1973 100) WERE AS FOLLOWS :-

VALUE INDEX

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

IMPORTS

255

295

UNIT VALUE

INDEX

QUANTUM INDEX

173

147

178

166

THE TERMS OF TRADE INDEX, EXPRESSED AS A RATIO OF UNIT VALUE INDEX FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THAT FOR IMPORTS, FOR FEBRUARY 1980 WAS 97.

+THE HONG KONG TRADE STATISTICS SUMMARY+, A SUMMARY REPORT ON HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL TRADE IN MARCH 1980, WILL SOON BE ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE AT HK$3 A COPY.

A MORE COMPREHENSIVE REPORT, +HONG KONG EXTERNAL TRADE+, WITH DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE MONTH'S IMPORTS, EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS, WILL BE PUBLISHED IN EARLY JUNE AND WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE AT THE CENTRE AT HK$10 A COPY.

ENQUIRIES CONCERNING SUBSCRIPTION TO THESE REPORTS MAY BE MADE TO THE SALES OF PUBLICATIONS SECTION OF THE INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT AT BASKERVILLE HOUSE, HONG KONG (TEL. NO. 5-214375).

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