XN000022-1984-05-03 — Page 4

THURSDAY, MAY 3, 1984.'

3

FEBRUARY EXPORT PRICES, VOLUME RISE

****

FEBRUARY PRICES OF TOTAL EXPORTS, DOMESTIC EXPORTS, RE- EXPORTS AND IMPORTS ALL ROSE, ON AVERAGE, BY 16 PER CENT AS COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1983 PRICES, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

AS A RESULT, THE TERMS OF TRADE INDEX (EXPRESSED AS A RATIO OF THE TOTAL EXPORT PRICE INDEX TO THE IMPORT PRICE INDEX) REMAINED AT THE FEBRUARY 1983 LEVEL.

THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY SIX PER CENT AND 28 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, SO THAT THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 14 PER CENT, MEANWHILE, THE VOLUME OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY 25 PER CENT.

A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN EXPLAINED THAT SINCE THE FEBRUARY FIGURES WERE AFFECTED BY THE TIMING OF THE LUNAR NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS, IT WAS MORE USEFUL TO CONSIDER THE JANUARY AND FEBRUARY FIGURES TOGETHER. A COMPARISON OF THE FIGURES FOR THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 1984 WITH THOSE FOR THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR SHOWS THAT DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS GREW BY 27 PER CENT AND 34 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY IN VOLUME TERMS, AFTER ALLOWING FOR THE EFFECT OF PRICE INCREASES OF 15 PER CENT EACH. OVER THE SAME PERIOD, IMPORTS RECORDED A 21 PER CENT GROWTH IN VOLUME TERMS, WITH A PRICE INCREASE OF 16 PER CENT.

AN EXTENSION OF THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY THIS YEAR WITH THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1983, SHOWS THAT THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, RE-EXPORTS AND IMPORTS ROSE, ON AVERAGE, BY 11 PER CENT, 12 PER CENT AND 14 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 17 PER CENT AND 20 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, THUS GIVING AN 18 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS. MEANWHILE, THE VOLUME OF IMPORTS ROSE BY 13 PER CENT.

PRICES ARE BASED ON UNIT VALUES WHICH DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OR QUALITY OF GOODS TRADED. CHANGES IN THE VOLUME OF TRADE ARE DERIVED FROM CHANGES IN TRADE VALUES, AFTER DISCOUNTING THE EFFECT OF PRICE CHANGES, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

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 SEVEN PER CENT FOR WATCHES AND CLOCKS TO 25 PER CENT FOR METAL ORES AND SCRAP.

/THE DOMESTIC