XN000022-1985-08-04 — Page 2

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 4,

1935

PRICE, VOLUME CHANGES IN MAY EXTERNAL TRADE

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A COMPARISON OF THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 1985 WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, SHOWED THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECLINED BY FIVE PER CENT WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS GREW BY 39 PER CENT, GIVING A 11 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

OVER

IMPORTS INCREASED BY 10 PER CENT IN VOLUME TERMS. THE SAME PERIOD, THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY THREE PER CENT AND FOUR PER CENT RESPECTIVELY WHILE THOSE OF IMPORTS DECLINED BY TWO PER CENT.

COMPARING MAY 1985 WITH MAY 1984, THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY EIGHT PER CENT. WITHIN TOTAL EXPORTS, THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECREASED BY NINE PER CENT WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 37 PER CENT. IMPORTS INCREASED BY SIX PER CENT IN VOLUME TERMS. PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY ONE PER CENT AND TWO PER CENT RESPECTIVELY IN MAY 1985 COMPARED WITH MAY 1984, SO THAT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS, PRICES INCREASED BY TWO PER CENT. PRICES OF IMPORTS, ON THE OTHER HAND, DECREASED BY FOUR 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) ROSE BY SIX PER CENT.

EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING MAY 1985 WITH THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDING MAY 1984, THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY FIVE PER CENT AND 33 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, GIVING A 15 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS. MEANWHILE, THE VOLUME OF IMPORTS

RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 11 PER CENT. PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS,

AND IMPORTS ROSE, ON AVERAGE, BY EIGHT PER CENT, NINE PER CENT AND FOUR PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

PRICES ARE BASED ON UNIT VALUES WHICH DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OR QUALITY OF GOODS TRADED, EXCEPT FOR SOME SELECTED COMMODITIES FOR WHICH SPECIFICATION PRICE INDEXES ARE COMPILED. CHANGES 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 FOR MAY AND FOR JANUARY-MAY OF 1985 ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1.

AS SEEN FROM TABLE 1, THE EXPORT PRICES OF SOME COMMODITY GROUPS INCREASED IN MAY 1985 COMPARED WITH MAY 1984, RANGING FROM TWO PER CENT FOR METAL MANUFACTURES TO SIX PER CENT FOR TRAVEL GOODS, HANDBAGS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES. DECREASES IN EXPORT PRICES WERE REGISTERED FOR COMMODITY GROUPS SUCH AS METAL ORES

AND SCRAP (-24 PER CENT), WATCHES AND CLOCKS, (-NINE PER CENT) DOMESTIC ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES (-SEVEN PER CENT), TEXTILE FABRICs (-FIVE PER CENT), FOOTWEAR (-THREE PER CENT) AND RADIOS OF ALL KINDS (-ONE PER CENT).

THE DOMESTIC