XN000022-1982-04-29 — Page 6

-

5

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1982

THE CENSUS ALSO REVEALED THAT THERE WERE FEWER UNEMPLOYED

IMMIGRANTS.

HOWEVER, THERE WERE RELATIVELY FEWER IMMIGRANTS IN ADMINISTRATIVE, MANAGERIAL, PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL, AS WELL AS CLERICAL AND SALES OCCUPATIONS.

THE JANUARY 1982 ISSUE OF THE HONG KONG MONTHLY DIGEST OF STATISTICS WILL SHORTLY BE ON SALE IN THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, AT CONNAUGHT PLACE.

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR MARCH 1982

****

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (THURSDAY) PUBLISHED THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR HONG KONG'S VISIBLE TRADE IN MARCH 1982.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR MARCH WAS $10 291 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AT $6 577 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS AT $3 714 MILLION.

WITH IMPORTS AT $12 178 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR MARCH WAS $1 887 MILLION.

COMPARED WITH THE SAME MONTH IN 1981, THERE WERE THE FOLLOWING INCREASES BY VALUE: $793 MILLION OR 14 PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, $388 MILLION OR 12 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS, $1 181 MILLION OR 13 PER CENT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS AND $852 MILLION OR EIGHT PER CENT FOR IMPORTS. THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+, THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, AT 15 PER CENT IN MARCH THIS YEAR WAS SIGNIFICANTLY NARROWER THAN IN MARCH 1981 AT 20 PER CENT.

COMMENTING ON THE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT RETAINED IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS AND SEMI-MANUFACTURES DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE PICKED UP IN MARCH AS THE GROWTH RATE OF IMPORTS IN VALUE TERMS, AT EIGHT PER CENT IN MARCH, WAS MUCH THE SAME AS IN THE PREVIOUS TWO MONTHS OF THIS YEAR. HE FURTHER POINTED OUT THAT THE GROWTH RATE IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN MARCH, AT 14 PER CENT, WAS AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE SIX PER CENT RECORDED IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 1982 TAKEN TOGETHER, INDICATING PROBABLY A SLOW RECOVERY FROM THE LUNAR NEW YEAR LULL.

COMPARING THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR WITH THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1981. THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY $2 549 MILLION OR 10 PER CENT. COMPRISING INCREASES OF $1 445 MILLION OR NINE PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND OF $1 104 MILLION OR 12 PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS. THE VALUE OF IMPORTS ALSO INCREASED BY $2 340 MILLION OR EIGHT PER CENT.

THE VISIBLE TRADE +GAP+ IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR, AT 16 PER CENT, WAS NARROWER THAN IN THE CORRESPONDING QUARTER OF 1981, AT 18 PER CENT,

TRADE FIGURES