XN000022-1981-10-01 — Page 4

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1981

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A PENALTY CHARGE IS PAYABLE IF THE IMPORT AND EXPORT/ RE-EXPORT DECLARATIONS ARE LODGED AFTER THE SPECIFIED 14-DAY PERIOD.

TO ENSURE COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE TRADE STATISTICS, THE TRADE DECLARATIONS RECEIVED FROM IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS ARE CHECKED AGAINST THE CARGO MANIFESTS RECEIVED FROM SHIPPING AND AIRLINE COMPANIES AND AGENTS, IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY UNDECLARED SHIPMENTS AND TO ISSUE REMINDERS FOR OUTSTANDING DECLARATIONS.

THE DATA ELEMENTS PROVIDED BY IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS ON THE TRADE DECLARATIONS ARE CHECKED FOR ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS BEFORE BEING PUT INTO THE COMPUTER.

THE CHECKERS ARE EXPERIENCED IN COMMODITY AND COUNTRY CLASSIFICATION, AS WELL AS TRADE FLOWS AND PRICE RANGE CHECKS. IN CASES WHERE DECLARATIONS ARE SUSPECTED OF BEING UNDERVALUED, THE IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS CONCERNED ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT

INVOICES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS FOR VERIFICATION.

AS A RESULT OF VARIOUS MEASURES ADOPTED TO INCLUDE AS MUCH VALIDATED TRADE DATA AS PROMPTLY AS POSSIBLE IN THE CURRENT MONTH'S TRADE STATISTICS, A VERY HIGH PROPORTION OF SHIPMENT COVERAGE HAS BEEN ACHIEVED, WITH THE CURRENT MONTH'S DATA USUALLY REPRESENTING OVER 90 PER CENT OF THE ACTUAL SHIPMENTS. THE REMAINDER REPRESENTS LATE DECLARATIONS IN RESPECT OF SHIPMENTS EFFECTED IN EARLIER MONTHS.

PROVISIONAL TOTAL VALUES FOR EACH TYPE OF TRADE ARE USUALLY AVAILABLE WITH THREE TO FOUR WEEKS AFTER THE END OF THE REFERENCE MONTH.

A PRESS RELEASE GIVING THE TRADE VALUES OF THE LARGEST TRADING PARTNERS AND THE MAIN COMMODITIES TRADED, IS PUBLISHED FIVE TO SIX WEEKS AFTER THE END OF THE REFERENCE MONTH.

THE +HONG KONG TRADE STATISTICS - SUMMARY IS ON SALE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PUBLICATION OF THE PRESS RELEASE, AND THE +HONG KONG EXTERNAL TRADE REPORT ABOUT TWO TO THREE WEEKS LATER.

TO GIVE AN INDICATION OF TRADE CHANGES IN REAL TERMS, QUANTUM INDEXES ARE COMPILED BY DEFLATING TRADE VALUE INDEXES BY UNIT VALUE INDEXES.

A NEW MEASURE OF CHANGES IN THE PHYSICAL VOLUME AND WEIGHT OF TRADE WILL BE AVAILABLE WHEN THE SHIPPING/PORTS/CARGO STATISTICS SYSTEM, AT PRESENT BEING PLANNED, IS IMPLEMENTED.

THE JULY 1981 ISSUE OF THE HONG KONG MONTHLY DIGEST OF STATISTICS IS NOW ON SALE AT HK$14 A COPY AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, HONG KONG.

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