XN000022-1985-11-14 — Page 6

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1985

SEPTEMBER EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS RELEASED

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TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE FOR JANUARY - SEPTEMBER 1985, VALUED AT $342 548 MILLION, SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 6 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1984, ACCORDING TO TRADE VALUE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECREASED BY 7 PER CENT TO $94 942 MILLION, WHILE RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 34 PER CENT TO $78 648 MILLION AND IMPORTS INCREASED BY 4 PER CENT TO $168 957 MILLION. DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGE THER INCREASED BY 8 PER CENT.

ALL THE TRADE STATISTICS PRESENTED HEREIN ARE MEASURED AT CURRENT PRICES AND NO ACCOUNT HAS BEEN TAKEN OF THE CHANGES IN PRICES BETWEEN THE PERIODS OF COMPARISON. A SEPARATE ANALYSIS ON THE PRICE AND VOLUME MOVEMENTS OF EXTERNAL TRADE FOR SEPTEMBER 1985 WILL BE RELEASED EARLY NEXT MONTH.

THE CHANGES IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE TEN MAJOR MARKETS ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1.

COMPARING THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 1985 WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE U.S. DECREASED BY 9 PER CENT. ANALYSED BY COMMODITY, DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $1 260 MILLION OR 32 PER CENT); TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $1 217 MILLION OR 31 PER CENT) AS WELL AS ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES, AND ELECTRICAL PARTS THEREOF (BY $732 MILLION OR 16 PER CENT).

ON THE OTHER HAND, INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS, EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES, OPTICAL GOODS, WATCHES AND CLOCKS (BY $144 MILLION OR 5 PER CENT) AS WELL AS FOOTWEAR (BY $49 MILLION OR 12 PER CENT).

MOST COMMODITIES EXPORTED TO CHINA INCREASED RAPIDLY IN VALUE, PARTICULARLY OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $792 MILLION OR 361 PER CENT); TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $653 MILLION OR 51 PER CENT) AS WELL AS MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURED ARTICLES (MAINLY BABY CARRIAGES, TOYS, GAMES SPORTING GOODS AS WELL AS JEWELLERY, GOLDSMITHS' AND SILVERSMITHS' WARES, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF PRECIOUS OR SEMI-PRECIOUS MATERIAL3) (BY $497 MILLION OR 47 PER CENT).

HOWEVER, DECREASES WERE REGISTERED FOR TEXTILES (BY $91 MILLION OR 6 PER CENT) AND NON-METALLIC MINERAL MANUFACTURES (BY $40 MILLION OR 30 PER CENT).

/DECREASES IN