XN000022-1986-06-03 — Page 5

TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1986

FIRST QUARTER EXPORTS STATISTICS RELEASED

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IN TERMS OF THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1986, THE SIX MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRY GROUPS WERE WEARING APPAREL, ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS, TEXTILES, PROFESSIONAL AND O. TICAL EQUIPMENT, PLASTIC PRODUCTS, AND BASIc METALS AND FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS.

THEY TOGETHER ACCOUNTED FOR 84 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF DOMESTIC MERCHANDISE EXPORTS.

AMONG ALL INDUSTRIES, THE LARGEST INCREASES IN ABSOLUTE VALUE OVER THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985 WERE RECORDED IN TEXTILES (+$948 MILLION), .PROFESSIONAL AND OPTICAL EQUIPMENT. (+$322 MILLION), PAPER AND PAPER PRODUCTS, PRINTING AND PUBLISHING (+$70 MILLION), FOOTWEAR (+$68 MILLION), TOBACCO (+$35 MILLION), AND ELECTRICITY (+$30 MILLION).

IN RELATIVE TERMS, INDUSTRIES WITH THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE INCREASES OVER THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985 WERE FOOTWEAR (+59 PER CENT), BEVERAGES (+51 PER CENT), ELECTRICITY (+30 PER CENT), TEXTILES (+20 PER CENT), AND TOBACCO (+19 PER CENT).

ON THE OTHER HAND, SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS COMPARED WITH THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985 WERE RECORDED FOR ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS (-$686 MILLION OR -10 PER CENT), NON-ELECTRICAL MACHINERY (-$430 MILLION_OR 43 PER CENT), WEARING APPAREL (-$327 MILLION OR -5 PER CENT), BASIC METALS AND FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS (-$76 MILLION OR -6 PER CENT), LEATHER AND LEATHER PRODUCTS (-$40 MILLION OR -37 PER CENT), AND WOOD AND CORK PRODUCTS, FURNITURE AND FIXTURES (-$21 MILLION OR -12 PER CENT). A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE DECREASE WAS ALSO OBSERVED IN TRANSPORT EQUIPMENT (-52 PER CENT).

THE ABOVE ARE SOME OF THE STATISTICS RELEASED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (MONDAY) ON DOMESTIC EXPORTS ANALYSED BY INDUSTRIAL ORIGIN FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1986. THIS SERIES IS DERIVED BY REGROUPING ALL SIX-DIGIT MERCHANDISE EXPORT ITEMS UNDER THE PRESENT EXTERNAL TRADE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM ACCORDING TO THE INDUSTRIES IN WHICH THESE MERCHANDISE ITEMS ARE NORMALLY PRODUCED. TRANSACTIONS IN GOLD AND SPECIE ARE EXCLUDED.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF MERCHANDISE EXPORT ITEMS BY INDUSTRIAL ORIGIN IS STRUCTURED UPON THE UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION OF ALL ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES (1.S.I.C.), AS DISTINCT FROM THE UNITED NATIONS STANDARD INTERNATIONAL TRADE CLASS IF ICATION (S.I.T.C.) WHICH IS ADOPTED IN THE REGULAR TRADE STATISTICS REPORTS.

WHEN RES RING