XN000022-1980-06-26 — Page 4

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1980

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PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR MAY

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PROVISIONAL FIGURES FOR HONG KONG'S EXTERNAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN MAY 1980 WERE PUBLISHED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS WAS $8 495 MILLION MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AT $5 968 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS AT $2 527 MILLION. WITH IMPORTS AT $9 456 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR THE MONTH WAS $961 MILLION.

COMPARED WITH APRIL, DOMESTIC EXPORTS ROSE IN VALUE BY $579 MILLION, OR 11 PER CENT, AND RE-EXPORTS BY $225 MILLION, OR 10 PER CENT, TO GIVE AN INCREASE OF $804 MILLION OR 10.5 PER CENT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS.

IN CONTRAST, IMPORTS FELL BY $80 MILLION OR 1 PER CENT, SO CAUSING A SHARP REDUCTION IN THE MONTHLY VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT, FROM $1 847 MILLION TO $961 MILLION.

THIS IMPROVEMENT IN MAY COMPARED WITH APRIL WAS PARTLY SEASONAL. COMPARING MAY 1980 WITH THE SAME MONTH IN 1979, THERE WERE THE FOLLOWING INCREASES BY VALUE: $1 416 MILLION OR 31 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS- $871 MILLION OR 53 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS- $2 287 MILLION OR 37 PER CENT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS AND $2 572 MILLION OR 37 PER CENT FOR IMPORTS.

COMMENTING ON THE MAY FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THEY SHOW A CONTINUATION OF THE PATTERN APPARENT IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF THIS YEAR.

COMPARED WITH MAY LAST YEAR, TOTAL EXPORTS CONTINUED TO GROW AT ROUGHLY THE SAME RATE AS TOTAL IMPORTS, DESPITE THE FACT THAT AN AEROPLANE WORTH $263 MILLION WAS IMPORTED DURING MAY 1980. WITHIN TOTAL EXPORTS, THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS CONTINUED TO GROW RAPIDLY.

IN LINE WITH THIS PATTERN, IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR THE VALUES OF IMPORTS AND OF TOTAL EXPORTS WERE BOTH 37 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 1979, WHILE THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS WAS 46 PER CENT HIGHER.

THE SPOKESMAN SAID THAT THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+, THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS WHICH IS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, WAS 16.8 PER CENT IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, MUCH THE SAME AS THE 16.7 PER CENT IN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD OF 1979. SO THE +GAP+ HAS CEASED TO NARROW, IN CONTRAST WITH THE SITUATION IN 1979 AS COMPARED TO 1978.

THE FOLLOWING