XN000022-1983-03-29 — Page 6

TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 1983

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PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR FEBRUARY 1983

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THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR FEBRUARY WAS $9 004 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AT $5 569 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS AT $3 435 MILLION ACCORDING TO PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR THE MONTH PUBLISHED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

WITH IMPORTS AT $10 166 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR FEBRUARY WAS $1 162 MILLION.

COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1982, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY $875 MILLION OR 19 PER CENT, WHILE THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS DECREASED BY $161 MILLION OR FOUR PER CENT.

TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY $714 MILLION OR NINE PER CENT, BUT THE VALUE OF IMPORTS FELL BY $1 054 MILLION OR NINE PER CENT. IN CONSEQUENCE, THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP, THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, NARROWED SIGNIFICANTLY TO 11.4 PER CENT FROM 26.1 PER CENT IN FEBRUARY LAST YEAR.

COMMENTING ON THESE COMPARATIVE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN CAUTIONED THAT THEY WERE HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THE TIMING OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR, WHICH FELL IN MID-FEBRUARY THIS YEAR BUT IN LATE JANUARY LAST YEAR,

PUTTING FEBRUARY'S TRADE FIGURES INTO CONTEXT, THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT THE VALUES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND OF RE- EXPORTS IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF THIS YEAR WERE 10 PER CENT AND THREE PER CENT RESPECTIVELY HIGHER THAN IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 1982.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS WAS THUS SEVEN PER CENT HIGHER. AS THE VALUE OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY TWO PER CENT, THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 1983, AT 11.7 PER CENT, WAS SMALLER THAN IN THE SAME PERIOD OF 1982, AT 16 PER CENT.

EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY THIS YEAR WITH THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1982, THE INCREASES IN VALUE WERE FOUR PER CENT FOR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, FIVE PER CENT FOR RE-EXPORTS, FOUR PER CENT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS AND THREE PER CENT FOR IMPORTS.

THE FOLLOWING TABLE PROVIDES FURTHER STATISTICAL DETAILS:

MERCHANDISE..

DOMESTIC EXPORTS RE-EXPORTS TOTAL EXPORTS IMPORTS

TRADE BALANCE

I $ 5 569 MILLION : $ 3 435 MILLION

: $ 9 004 MILLION

: $10 166 MILLION : $ 1 162 MILLION

(IN DEFICIT)

/COMPARATIVE FIGURES