XN000022-1982-02-26 — Page 2

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1982

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR JANUÁRY 1982

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THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY PUBLISHED THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR HONG KONG'S VISIBLE TRADE IN JANUARY 1982.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR JANUARY WAS $9 558 MILLION. MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AT $6 239 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS A $3.319 MILLION, WITH IMPORTS AT $10 023 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR JANUARY WAS $465 MILLION.

AS THE LUNAR NEW YEAR IN 1982 FELL IN JANUARY AND THAT IN 1981 FELL IN FEBRUARY, IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR JANÚARY THIS 'YEAR' SHOWED DECREASES WHEN COMPARED WITH FIGURES FOR THE SAME MONTH IN 1981.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS DECREASED BY $116 MILLION OR 1,2 PER CENT, COMPRISING DECREASES OF $106 MILLION OR 1.7 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND, $9 MILLION, OR 0.3 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS.

THE VALUE OF IMPORTS ALSO. DECREASED BUT BY A RELATIVELY MORE SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF $663 MILLION OR 6.2 PER CENT.

THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+, THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, AT 4.6 PER CENT, SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT NARROWING WHEN COMPARED WITH 9.5 PER CENT IN JANUARY 1981.

· PUTTING THE JANUARY TRADE STATISTICS INTO CONTEXT, GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE VALUES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1982 SHOWED INCREASES OF 14 PER CENT AND 19 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY WHEN COMPARED WITH THE VALUES IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1981.

THE CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS WAS 16 PER CENT, MUCH FASTER THAN THE INCREASE IN THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, AT 8 PER CENT. THUS THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ CONTINUED TO BE ON A NARROWING TREND. AT 9.2 PER CENT IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1982, IT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER THAN IN THE THREE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1981, AT 15.2 PER CENT,

THE SPOKESMAN, HOWEVER, CAUTIONED THAT THE RELATIVELY SLOW GROWTH RATES OF IMPORTS RECORDED IN RECENT MONTHS WERE WIDE-SPREAD AMONG DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF IMPORTS, INCLUDING RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES. THIS MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR HONG KONG'S EXPORT PERFORMANCE IN THE COMING MONTHS.

EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY THIS YEAR WITH THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1981, THERE WERE THE FOLLOWING INCREASES BY VALUE: $10 797 MILLION OR 16 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS- $10 378 MILLION OR 33 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS- $21 175 MILLION OR 21 PER CENT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS AND $23 509 MILLION OR 20.6 PER CENT FOR IMPORTS.

/TRADE FIGURES