XN000022-1980-09-28 — Page 3

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1980

2

COMMENTING ON THE AUGUST TRADE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SAID IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL FOR A SURPLUS TO BE RECORDED IN AUGUST. IN AUGUST LAST YEAR, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A SURPLUS IN THE VISIBLE TRADE ACCOUNT AMOUNTING TO $215 MILLION.

HE POINTED OUT THAT, WHILE THE GROWTH RATE OF RE-EXPORTS IN AUGUST CONTINUED TO BE RAPID, THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS APPEARED TO HAVE SLOWED DOWN AS EXPECTED. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE VIEW THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TOOK WHEN PUTTING HIS REVISED FORECAST FOR THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN REAL TERMS FOR THE YEAR AS A WHOLE AT 14 PER CENT, GIVEN THAT THE GROWTH RATE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR HAD BEEN 18 PER CENT.

THE SPOKESMAN ADDED THAT AS THE GROWTH RATE OF IMPORTS WAS ALSO SLOWING DOWN, THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ -- THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS WHICH IS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS -- SHOWED NO SIGN OF WIDENING. THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ FOR THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, AT 11.7 PER CENT, WAS SLIGHTLY NARROWER THAN THE 12 PER CENT RECORDED IN THE FIRST EIGHT MONTHS OF 1979.

THE PROVISIONAL MERCHANDISE TRADE FIGURES FOR AUGUST WERE :

$6 769 MILLION

MERCHANDISE :

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

RE-EXPORTS

$2 696 MILLION

TOTAL EXPORTS

1

$9 465 MILLION

IMPORTS

$9 448 MILLION

TRADE BALANCE

$

17 MILLION (IN SURPLUS)

COMPARATIVE FIGURES

LATEST THREE MONTHS

JUNE-AUGUST

1980

JUNE-AUGUST

1979

INCREASE OR DECREASE

$ MN.

$ MN.

$ MN.

%

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

18 920

15 548

+3 372

+21.7

RE-EXPORTS

7 491

5 151

+2 339

+45.4

TOTAL EXPORTS

26 411

20 699

+5 712

+27.6

IMPORTS

27 408

21 823

+5 585 +25.6

TRADE BALANCE

997

-1 124

127

/SAME MONTH