XN000022-1986-04-14 — Page 8

MONDAY, APRIL 14, 1986

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FEBRUARY EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS RELEASED

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THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (MONDAY) RELEASED TRADE VALUE STATISTICS FOR FEBRUARY 1986. TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN JANUARY TO FEBRUARY 1986, VALUED AT $70 105 MILLION, WAS ONE PER CENT LOWER THAN IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECREASED BY EIGHT PER CENT TO $18 877 MILLION WHILE RE-EXPORTS DECREASED BY SIX PER CENT TO $15 439 MILLION, SO THAT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS,

IMPORTS INCREASED THE TRADE VALUE DECREASED BY SEVEN PER CENT, BY FIVE PER CENT TO $35 789 MILLION.

EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE THREE MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1986, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS WAS FOUR PER CENT LOWER THAN THE SAME PERIOD A YEAR AGO AND THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS WAS TWO PER CENT LOWER, WHILE THAT OF IMPORTS GREW BY FIVE 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 FEBRUARY 1986 WILL BE RELEASED IN EARLY MAY.

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

COMPARING THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 1986 WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE U.S. DECREASED BY SEVEN PER CENT. ANALYSED BY COMMODITY, DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN CLOTHING (BY $263 MILLION OR SEVEN PER CENT); ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES, AND ELECTRICAL PARTS THEREOF (BY $205 MILLION OR 23 PER CENT) AS WELL AS TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $89 MILLION OR 15 PER CENT).

ON THE OTHER HAND, INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $32 MILLION OR SIX PER CENT) AS WELL AS FOOTWEAR (BY $20 MILLION OR 21 PER CENT).

MOST COMMODITIES EXPORTED TO CHINA DECREASED IN VALUE, PARTICULARLY OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $374 MILLION OR 94 PER CENT); TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $234 MILLION OR 52 PER CENT) AS WELL AS ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES, AND ELECTRICAL PARTS THEREOF (BY $108 MILLION OR 51 PER CENT).

HOWEVER, INCREASES WERE REGISTERED FOR TEXTILES (BY $86 MILLION OR 33 PER CENT) AS WELL AS TOBACCO AND TOBACCO MANUFACTURES (BY $34 MILLION OR 33 PER CENT).

INCREASES IN