XN000022-1983-11-24 — Page 2

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1983

1-

OCTOBER EXPORTS SHOW BIG RISE

******

DOMESTIC EXPORTS, AT $10 478 MILLION IN OCTOBER WERE 48 PER CENT OR $3 391 MILLION HIGHER THAN IN THE SAME MONTH A YEAR AGO, ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES PUBLISHED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT,

RE-EXPORTS, AT $5 715 MILLION, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 58 PER CENT OR $2 100 MILLION OVER THIS PERIOD. THUS, TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, TOTAL EXPORTS ROSE BY 51 PER CENT, OR $5 491 MILLION, TO REACH $16 193 MILLION IN OCTOBER.

WITH IMPORTS AT $17 618 MILLION, AN INCREASE OF 44 PER CENT OR $5 400 MILLION, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT FOR OCTOBER THIS YEAR WAS $1 425 MILLION,

THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP, THAT IS THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THAT OF TOTAL EXPORTS, NARROWED SIGNIFICANTLY TO 8 PER CENT, FROM 12 PER CENT IN OCTOBER LAST

YEAR.

A GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT, PUTTING LAST MONTH'S TRADE FIGURES INTO CONTEXT, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN THE FIRST TEN MONTHS OF 1983 WAS 23 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD LAST YEAR.

BOTH DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS, WHICH MAKE UP TOTAL EXPORTS, INCREASED BY 23 PER CENT. AS THE GROWTH RATE OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS WAS LOWER, AT 20 PER CENT, THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP IN THE FIRST TEN MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, AT 9 PER CENT, WAS NARROWER THAN THAT IN THE SIMILAR PERIOD OF 1982, AT 11 PER CENT,

COMMENTING ON THESE IMPRESSIVE FIGURES ON DOMESTIC EXPORTS RE-EXPORTS AND IMPORTS FOR OCTOBER, THE SPOKESMAN NOTED THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST MONTH THAT DOMESTIC EXPORTS HAD EVER EXCEEDED $10 000 MILLION.

HE ALSO SAID THAT THE IR INCREASES IN REAL TERMS (AFTER ALLOWING FOR THE EFFECTS OF PRICE INCREASES) SHOULD REMAIN VERY SUBSTANTIAL, AND INDICATED A CONTINUATION OF THE EXPORT- LED ECONOMIC RECOVERY.

THE FOLLOWING TABLE GIVES THE PROVISIONAL MERCHANDISE TRADE FIGURES FOR OCTOBER 1983 1-

MERCHANDISE 1

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

RE-EXPORTS

TOTAL EXPORTS

IMPORTS

TRADE BALANCE

$10 478 MILLION

$ 5 715 MILLION

1 $16 193 MILLION

$17 618 MILLION

$ 1 425 MILLION

(IN DEFICIT)

/COMPARATIVE FIGURES