XN000022-1984-04-04 — Page 2

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 1984

JANUARY EXPORT, RE-EXPORT PRICES RISE

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JANUARY 1984 PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS BOTH ROSE, ON AVERAGE, BY 15 PER CENT SO THAT, FOR TOTAL EXPORTS, PRICES WERE UP BY 15 PER CENT AS COMPARED WITH JANUARY 1983, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

MEANWHILE, THE PRICES OF IMPORTS ROSE BY 17 PER CENT.

AS A RESULT, THE TERMS OF TRADE INDEX (EXPRESSED AS A RATIO OF THE TOTAL EXPORT PRICE INDEX TO THE IMPORT PRICE INDEX) DROPPED BY 1 PER CENT.

THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 45 PER CENT AND 40 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, SO THAT THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 44 PER CENT. MEANWHILE, THE VOLUME OF

IMPORTS INCREASED BY 18 PER CENT,

COMMENTING ON THESE COMPARATIVE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT TRADE STATISTICS FOR THE BEGINNING MONTHS OF THE YEAR ARE INFLUENCED BY THE TIMING OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR.

THE SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN EXPORTS IN JANUARY IS ATTRIBUTABLE, AT LEAST IN PART, TO INCREASED SHIPMENTS PRIOR TO THE CHINESE NEW YEAR.

THIS POINT SHOULD BE BORNE IN MIND IN INTERPRETING SUCH STATISTICS, HE SAID.

EXTENSION OF THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY THIS YEAR WITH THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1983, SHOWS THAT THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, RE-EXPORTS AND IMPORTS ROSE, ON AVERAGE, BY 10 PER CENT, 11 PER CENT AND 13 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS BOTH INCREASED BY 18 PER CENT, THUS GIVING AN 18 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS.

MEANWHILE, THE VOLUME OF IMPORTS ROSE BY 10 PER CENT.

PRICES ARE BASED ON UNIT VALUES WHICH DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT

CHANGES CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OR QUALITY OF GOODS TRADED.

IN THE VOLUME OF TRADE ARE DERIVED FROM. CHANGES IN TRADE VALUES, AFTER DISCOUNTING THE EFFECT OF PRICE CHANGES.

THE CHANGES IN THE VALUE, UNIT VALUE AND VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS BY COMMODITY GROUP ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1.

AS SEEN FROM TABLE 1, THE EXPORT PRICES OF ALL COMMODITY GROUPS INCREASED, FROM 8 PER CENT FOR ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS TO 27 PER CENT FOR METAL ORES AND SCRAP,

/THE DOMESTIC