XN000022-1981-04-29 — Page 16

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1981

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR MARCH 1981

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THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (WEDNESDAY)

PUBLISHED THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR HONG KONG'S MERCHANDISE TRADE IN MARCH 1981.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR MARCH WAS $9 111 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AT $5 784 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS AT $3 326 MILLION.

WITH IMPORTS AT $11 326 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR MARCH WAS $2 215 MILLION.

COMPARED WITH MARCH 1980, THERE WERE THE FOLLOWING INCREASES BY VALUE: $1 200 MILLION OR 26 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS- $1 124 MILLION OR 51 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS, $2 324 MILLION OR 34 PER CENT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS AND $2 367 MILLION OR 26 PER CENT FOR IMPORTS.

COMMENTING ON THE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT, ALTHOUGH FUEL OIL WORTH ABOUT $156 MILLION WAS IMPORTED AS PART OF THE GOVERNMENT'S EFFORT TO BUILD UP HONG KONG'S STRATEGIC RESERVES, THE GROWTH RATE OF THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN MARCH WAS FASTER THAN THAT OF IMPORTS.

THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+, THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, WAS 19.6 PER CENT IN MARCH THIS YEAR, COMPARED WITH 24.2 PER CENT IN MARCH 1980.

THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN FURTHER POINTED OUT THAT THE ACCELERATION IN THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, FROM MINUS 5 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1980, TO 26 PER CENT IN MARCH THIS YEAR COMPARED WITH MARCH 1980, WAS PARTLY THE RESULT OF THE DIFFERENT TIMING OF THE LUNAR NEW YEAR. EXPLAINED THAT, WHILE IN MARCH LAST YEAR DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE

HE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF RECOVER ING FROM THE LUNAR NEW YEAR LULL, IN MARCH THIS YEAR THEY HAD ALREADY RECOVERED.

COMPARING THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR WITH THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1980 TO AVOID THIS DISTORTION, THE GROWTH RATE OF THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS WAS 17 PER CENT. THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN CONSIDERED THIS GROWTH RATE TO BE ENCOURAGING BECAUSE IT SUGGESTED THAT THE SHARP SLOW DOWN IN THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS DURING THE SECOND HALF OF 1980 HAD BEEN ARRESTED. BUT HE CAUTIONED THAT IT WAS STILL TOO EARLY TO SAY WHETHER THIS DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTED THE START OF A NEW TREND.

USING THE SAME COMPARISON PERIOD, THE GROWTH RATE OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, AT 28 PER CENT, WAS SLOWER THAN THE GROWTH RATE OF TOTAL EXPORTS AT 30 PER CENT. THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR WAS 17.7 PER CENT COMPARED WITH 18.5 PER CENT IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1980.

/THE CENSUS