XN000022-1984-09-17 — Page 4

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1984

3

AIRBORNE TRADE RISES SHARPLY

****

TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE BY AIR FROM JANUARY TO JUNE THIS YEAR CAME TO $48 639 MILLION, AN INCREASE OF 41 PER CENT OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO SUMMARY FIGURES RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

AIRBORNE DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE VALUED AT $17 880 MILLION (UP 46 PER CENT), AIRBORNE IMPORTS AT $22 108 MILLION (UP 35 PER CENT) AND AIRBORNE RE-EXPORTS AT $8 651 MILLION (UP 46 PER CENT).

IN THAT SIX-MONTH PERIOD, 29 PER CENT OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS, 21 PER CENT OF IMPORTS AND 23 PER CENT OF RE-EXPORTS, ALL BY VALUE, WERE CARRIED BY AIR.

IN WEIGHT TERMS, AIRBORNE IMPORTS AMOUNTED TO 76 988 TONNES, REPRESENTING 0.4 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL IMPORT TONNAGE, AND TOTAL AIRBORNE EXPORTS AMOUNTED TO 118 327 TONNES OR 1.7 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL EXPORT TONNAGE.

BY COMMODITY, INCREASES IN AIRBORNE DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE REGISTERED MAINLY IN CLOTHING (BY $2 443 MILLION OR 64 PER CENT), OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $1 969 MILLION OR 140 PER CENT), JEWELLERY, GOLDSMITHS' AND SILVERSMITHS' WARES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF PRECIOUS OR SEMI-PRECIOUS MATERIALS (BY $345 MILLION OR 69 PER CENT) AND THERMIONIC, COLD CATHODE AND PHOTO-CATHODE VALVES AND TUBES, PHOTOCELLS, TRANSISTORS AND PARTS (BY $231 MILLION OR 39 PER CENT).

DECREASES IN VALUE WERE RECORDED FOR AIRBORNE DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF ORES AND CONCENTRATES OF PRECIOUS METALS, WASTE, SCRAPS AND SWEEPINGS OF PRECIOUS METALS (OTHER THAN OF GOLD) (BY $181 MILLION OR 38 PER CENT), OFFICE AND STATIONERY SUPPLIES (BY $79 MILLION OR 58 PER CENT) AND MISCELLANEOUS TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT, PARTS AND ACCESSORIES (BY $75 MILLION OR 19 PER CENT).

FURTHER ANALYSIS OF COMMODITY BY COUNTRY REVEALED SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH IN AIRBORNE DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF CLOTHING TO THE U.S. (BY $1 422 MILLION OR 67 PER CENT) AND JAPAN (BY $337 MILLION OR 125 PER CENT), IN AIRBORNE DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT TO THE U.S. (BY $1 243 MILLION OR 113 PER CENT) AND THE U.K. (BY $342 MILLION OR 965 PER CENT) AND IN AIRBORNE DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF JEWELLERY, GOLDSMITHS' AND SILVERSMITHS' WARES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF PRECIOUS OR SEMI-PRECIOUS MATERIALS TO THE U.S. (BY $237 MILLION OR 115 PER CENT) AND JAPAN (BY $45 MILLION OR 55 PER CENT).

HOWEVER, DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN AIRBORNE DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF ORES AND CONCENTRATES OF PRECIOUS METALS, WASTE, SCRAPS AND SWEEPINGS OF PRECIOUS METALS (OTHER THAN OF GOLD) TO THE U.K. (BY $254 MILLION OR 63 PER CENT) AND OFFICE AND STATIONERY SUPPLIES TO THE U.S. (BY $13 MILLION OR 52 PER CENT).

/INCREASES WERE