XN000022-1985-05-14 — Page 8

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 1935

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MARCH EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS ******

TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE FOR JANUARY-MARCH THIS YEAR, VALUED AT $108 449 MILLION, INCREASED BY 15 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO TRADE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT. ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, DOMESTIC EXPORTS ROSE BY THREE PER CENT TO $28 976 MILLION, IMPORTS BY 11 PER CENT TO 54 000 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS BY 44 PER CENT TO $25 473 MILLION, DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER INCREASED BY 19 PER CENT.

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

COMPARING FIGURES FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF 1985 WITH THOSE FOR THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE U.S.A. SHOWED LITTLE CHANGE.

ANALYSED BY COMMODITY, INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN CLOTHING (BY $571 MILLION OR 13 PER CENT), PLASTIC TOYS AND DOLLS (BY $97 MILLION OR 15 PER CENT) AND WATCHES AND CLOCKS (BY $78 MILLION OR 13 PER CENT). ON THE OTHER HAND, DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $328 MILLION OR 38 PER CENT) AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $246 MILLION OR 23 PER CENT).

MOST COMMODITIES EXPORTED TO CHINA INCREASED RAPIDLY IN VALUE, PARTICULARLY OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $605 MILLION OR 1 789 PER CENT), TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $415 MILLION OR 155 PER CENT), AND ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES, AND ELECTRICAL PARTS THEREOF (BY $241 MILLION OR 231 PER CENT). HOWEVER, DECREASES WERE REGISTERED FOR TEXTILES (BY $70 MILLION OR 15 PER CENT) AND FEEDING STUFF FOR ANIMALS (BY $9 MILLION OR 50 PER CENT).

INCREASES IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM WERE REGISTERED FOR METALLIFEROUS ORES AND METAL SCRAP (BY $53 MILLION OR 106 PER CENT), CLOTHING (BY $10 MILLION OR 1 PER CENT) AND TRAVEL GOODS, HANDBAGS AND SIMILAR CONTAINERS (BY $7 MILLION OR 18 PER CENT). ON THE OTHER HAND, DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN TEXTILES (BY $71 MILLION OR 47 PER CENT) AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $51 MILLION OR 42 PER CENT).

/MEANWHILE, INCREASES