XN000022-1987-04-13 — Page 3

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 1987

EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS FOR FEBRUARY RELEASED

*****

THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY (MONDAY) RELEASED TRADE VALUE STATISTICS FOR FEBRUARY 1987. COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1986, TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN FEBRUARY 1987, VALUED AT $44 726 MILLION, GREW BY 39 PER CENT.

COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1986, DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 20 PER CENT TO $9 992 MILLION IN FEBRUARY 1987 WHILE RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 54 PER CENT TO $10 616 MILLION, BRINGING TOTAL EXPORTS IN FEBRUARY 1987 TO $20 608 MILLION, WHICH WAS 35 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN FEBRUARY 1986.

COMPARED WITH A YEAR EARLIER, IMPORTS INCREASED BY 42 PER CENT TO $24 118 MILLION IN FEBRUARY 1987.

DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO MOST MAJOR MARKETS INCREASED IN VALUE TERMS BETWEEN FEBRUARY 1986 AND FEBRUARY 1987. THE GROWTH IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO CHINA (+97 PER CENT) WAS PARTICULARLY STRONG. SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH WAS ALSO RECORDED IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE NETHERLANDS (+54 PER CENT), SINGAPORE (+44 PER CENT), JAPAN (+37 PER CENT) AND THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (+33 PER CENT). ON THE OTHER HAND, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO CANADA AND AUSTRALIA DECREASED BY 16 PÉR CENT AND 3 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

J

ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, IMPORTS FROM MOST MAJOR SUPPLIERS INCREASED, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (+91 PER CENT), TAIWAN (+70 PER CENT), CHINA (+63 PER CENT), FRANCE (+46 PER CENT) AND SWITZERLAND (+40 PER CENT).

ON THE OTHER HAND, A DECREASE WAS RECORDED IN IMPORTS FROM SINGAPORE (-4 PER CENT). RE-EXPORTS TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, TAIWAN, THE UNITED STATES, THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND CHINA INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BY 90 PER CENT, 80 PER CENT, 77 PER CENT, 75 PER CENT AND 55 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 1987, VALUED AT $94 300 MILLION, INCREASED BY 35 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE SAME TWO MONTHS IN 1986. ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 27 PER CENT TO $24 045 MILLION WHILE RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 47 PER CENT TO $22 620 MILLION. THUS, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 36 PER CENT. IMPORTS INCREASED BY 33 PER CENT TO $47 634 MILLION.

COMPARING JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 1987 WITH THE SAME TWO MONTHS IN 1986, DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO MOST MAJOR MARKETS INCREASED IN VALUE TERMS. THE MARKETS WITH THE FASTEST GROWTH IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCLUDED THE NETHERLANDS (+76 PER CENT), CHINA (+68 PER CENT), JAPAN (+60 PER CENT) THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (+46 PER CENT) AND SINGAPORE (+32 PER CENT).

/DOMESTIC EXPORTS