XN000022-1985-07-15 — Page 2

MONDAY, JULY 15, 1985

JANUARY-MAY EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS RELEASED

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TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE FOR JANUARY-MAY 1985, VALUED AT $186 767 MILLION, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 12 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1984, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECREASED BY TWO PER CENT TO $49 452 MILLION, BUT RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 45 PER CENT TO $44 301 MILLION AND IMPORTS BY EIGHT PER CENT TO $93 014 MILLION.

CENT.

DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER INCREASED BY 16 PER

DOMESTIC EXPORTS

COMPARING THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 1985 WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE U.S.A. DECREASED BY FIVE PÉR CENT. ANALYSED BY COMMODITY, DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $754 MILLION OR 36 PER CENT) AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $492 MILLION OR 26 PER CENT).

ON THE OTHER HAND, INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN CLOTHING (BY $448 MILLION OR FIVE PER CENT), WATCHES AND CLOCKS (BY $85 MILLION OR SEVEN PER CENT), AND POWER GENERATING MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT (BY $30 MILLION OR 28 PER CENT).

MOST COMMODITIES EXPORTED TO CHINA INCREASED RAPIDLY IN VALUE, PARTICULARLY OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $814 MILLION OR 1 186 PER CENT), TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $679 MILLION OR 131 PER CENT), AND ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES, AND ELECTRICAL PARTS THEREOF (BY $341 MILLION OR 171 PER CENT). HOWEVER, DECREASES WERE REGISTERED FOR TEXTILES (BY $117 MILLION OR 13 PER CENT) AND FEEDING STUFF FOR ANIMALS (BY $24 MILLION OR 63 PER CENT).

DECREASES IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM WERE RECORDED IN CLOTHING (BY $223 MILLION OR 14 PER CENT) AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $103 MILLION OR 45 PER CENT). ON THE OTHER HAND INCREASES WERE REGISTERED FOR METALLIFEROUS ORES AND METAL SCRAP (BY $85 MILLION OR 83 PER CENT).

/DECREASES IN