XN000022-1986-04-23 — Page 40

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1986

THE SPOKESMAN NOTED THAT AS IT WAS NOT YET POSSIBLE TO QUANTIFY THE EXACT AMOUNT REQUIRED UNDER EACH HEAD OF EXPENDITURE, SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISION FOR PERSONAL EMOLUMENTS SUBHEADS WILL BE APPROVED UNDER DELEGATED POWERS ONCE THE REQUIREMENTS HAVE BEEN CALCULATED.

+SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISION FOR SUBVENTED ORGANISATIONS AND FOR REIMBURSEMENTS TO THE HOUSING AUTHORITY WILL, WHERE POSSIBLE, ALSO BE APPROVED UNDER DELEGATED POWERS. WHERE THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE, PROPOSALS WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE,+ HE SAID.

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR MARCH ****

THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN MARCH 1986, AT $10 269 MILLION, WAS 22 PER CENT OR $1 839 MILLION HIGHER THAN IN THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR, WHILE THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS, AT $8 566 MILLION, WAS 6 PER CENT OR $512 MILLION LOWER, ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES PUBLISHED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS, AT $18 835 MILLION, WAS 8 PER CENT OR $1 327 MILLION HIGHER THAN A YEAR EARLIER,

MEANWHILE, THE VALUE OF IMPORTS DECREASED MARGINALLY, BY 0.2 PER CENT OR $32 MILLION, TO $19 883 MILLION. IN CONSEQUENCE, THE VISIBLE TRADE GAP (THAT IS, THE PROPORTION OF THE VALUE OF

IMPORTS NOT COVERED BY THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS) NARROWED TO 5.3 PER CENT IN MARCH 1986, COMPARED WITH 12.1 PER CENT IN MARCH 1985.

PUTTING THE MONTH'S TRADE FIGURES INTO CONTEXT, A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT THAT THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS FOR THE 12 MONTHS ENDING MARCH 1986 WAS $233 854 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF $130 052 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS OF $103 802 MILLION.

COMPARED WITH THE 12 MONTHS ENDING MARCH 1985, THE VALUES OF TOTAL EXPORTS AND OF RE-EXPORTS GREW BY 2 PER CENT AND 14 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, WHILE THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS FELL BY 6 PER CENT.

/OVER THIS

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