XN000022-1986-11-13 — Page 2

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1986

EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS FOR SEPTEMBER RELEASED

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (THURSDAY) RELEASED TRADE VALUE STATISTICS FOR SEPTEMBER 1986. TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1986, VALUED AT $388 175 MILLION, INCREASED BY 13 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR. ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 14 PER CENT TO $108 386 MILLION WHILE RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY NINE PER CENT TO $85 353 MILLION, SO THAT FOR TOTAL EXPORTS, THE TRADE VALUE INCREASED BY 12 PER CENT, IMPORTS INCREASED BY 15 PER CENT TO $194 437 MILLION.

COMPARING THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 1986 WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO MOST OF THE PRINCIPAL MARKETS INCREASED IN VALUE TERMS. THE MARKETS WITH RAPID GROWTH IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCLUDED FRANCE (46 PER CENT), THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (38 PER CENT), THE NETHERLANDS (29 PER CENT), JAPAN (24 PER CENT) AND SINGAPORE (21 PER CENT).

DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO HONG KONG'S TWO LARGEST MARKETS, THE U.S. AND CHINA, HOWEVER, GREW LESS RAPIDLY BY NINE PER CENT AND SIX PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO AUSTRALIA DECREASED BY THREE PER CENT.

IMPORTS FROM THE PRINCIPAL SUPPLIERS GENERALLY INCREASED OVER THE SAME PERIOD, PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM SWITZERLAND (57 PER CENT), CHINA (39 PER CENT), ITALY (24 PER CENT),

ITALY (24 PER CENT), THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (18 PER CENT) AND THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (18 PER CENT). DECREASES WERE, HOWEVER, RECORDED IN IMPORTS FROM SINGAPORE (EIGHT PER CENT) AND THE U.S. ONE PER CENT).

ON THE SAME RASIS OF COMPARISON, RE-EXPORTS TO THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, THE U.S. AND TAIWAN INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY BY 102 PER CENT, 80 PER CENT, 49 PER CENT 48 PER CENT AND 29 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. ON THE OTHER HAND, RE-EXPORTS TO CHINA RECORDED A DECLINE (22 PER CENT), AS DID THOSE TO MACAU (FIVE PER CENT).

ALL THE TRADE STATISTICS PRESENTED ARE MEASURED AT CURRENT PRICES AND NO ACCOUNT HAS BEEN TAKEN OF THE CHANGES IN PRICES BETWEEN THE PERIODS OF COMPARISON. A SEPARATE ANALYSIS OF THE PRICE AND VOLUME MOVEMENTS OF EXTERNAL TRADE FOR JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1986 WILL BE RELEASED IN EARLY DECEMBER.

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

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