XN000022-1987-03-12 — Page 2

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1987

EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS FOR JANUARY RELEASED

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THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (THURSDAY) RELEASED TRADE VALUE STATISTICS FOR JANUARY 1987. COMPARED WITH JANUARY 1986, TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN JANUARY 1987, VALUED AT $49 574 MILLION, GREW BY 31 PER CENT. DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 33 PER CENT TO $14 053 MILLION IN JANUARY 1987 WHILE RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 40 PER CENT TO $12 005 MILLION, THUS BRINGING TOTAL EXPORTS IN JANUARY 1987 TO $26 057 MILLION, 36 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN JANUARY 1986. IMPORTS INCREASED BY 25 PER CENT TO $23 516 MILLION IN JANUARY 1987.

DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO MOST MAJOR MARKETS INCREASED IN VALUE TERMS BETWEEN JANUARY 1986 AND JANUARY 1987. THE GROWTH IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS WAS PARTICULARLY STRONG TO THE NETHERLANDS (+95 PER CENT), JAPAN (+80 PER CENT), THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (+57 PER CENT), CHINA (+48 PER CENT) AND FRANCE (+43 PER CENT). HOWEVER, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO HONG KONG'S LARGEST MARKET, THE U.S., GREW LESS RAPIDLY (+17 PER CENT). DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO AUSTRALIA DECREASED BY 6 PER CENT.

IMPORTS FROM MOST MAJOR SUPPLIERS GENERALLY INCREASED BETWEEN JANUARY 1986 AND JANUARY 1987, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA +67 PER CENT), FRANCE (+45 PER CENT), TAIWAN (+44 PER CENT), ITALY (+43 PER CENT) AND CHINA (+34 PER CENT).

ON THE OTHER HAND, A DECREASE WAS RECORDED IN IMPORTS FROM SINGAPORE (-8 PER CENT). RE-EXPORTS TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, THE U.S., THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND CHINA INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY BY 78 PER CENT, 69 PER CENT, 58 PER CENT, 58 PER CENT AND 37 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY,

EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE 12 MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1987 WITH THE 12 MONTHS ENDING JANUARY 1986, DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 22 PER CENT TO $157 506 MILLION. THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS AT $125 988 MILLION WAS 20 PER CENT HIGHER. TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER. TOTAL EXPORTS ROSE BY 21 PER CENT. IMPORTS INCREASED BY 21 PER CENT TO $280 664 MILLION. AS A WHOLE, TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE INCREASED BY 21 PER CENT.

ALL 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 1987 WILL BE RELEASED IN EARLY APRIL 1987.

THE CHANGES IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE TEN MAJOR MARKETS ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1 WHICH HAS BEEN SENT TOGETHER WITH OTHER STATISTICAL TABLES BY FACSIMILE NETWORK AND ALSO BOXED FOR COLLECTION.

/COMPARING