XN000022-1987-04-13 — Page 4

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 1987

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DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE U.S., HONG KONG'S LARGEST MARKETJN GREW BY 11 PER CENT IN VALUE TERMS. DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO AUSTRALIA DECREASED BY 5 PER CENT.

IMPORTS IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 1987 FROM MAJOR SUPPLIERS GENERALLY INCREASED WHEN COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1986. SIGNIFICANT INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN IMPORTS FROM THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (+78 PER CENT), TAIWAN (+55 PER CENT), FRANCE (+45 PER CENT), CHİNA (+45 PER CENT), AND THE UNITED KINGDOM (+25 PER CENT). A DECREASE WAS, HOWEVER, RECORDED IN IMPORTS FROM SINGAPORE (-6 PER CENT).

ON THE SAME BASIS OF COMPARISON, RE-EXPORTS TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, THE U.S., THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, TAIWAN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BY 83 PER CENT, 73 PER CENT, 67 PER CENT, 53 PER CENT AND 47 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF COMPARISON TO THE 12 MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1987, WITH THE 12 MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY 1986, DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 24 PER CENT TO $159 152 MILLION. THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS, AT $129 727 MILLION, ALSO ROSE BY 24 PER CENT, THUS, TOTAL EXPORTS ROSE BY 24 PER CENT. IMPORTS INCREASED BY 23 PER CENT TO $287 800 MILLION. TAKEN AS A WHOLE, TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE INCREASED BY 24 PER CENT.

ALL TRADE STATISTICS PRESENTED HERE 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 FEBRUARY 1987 WILL BE RELEASED IN EARLY MAY 1987.

THE CHANGES IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO HONG KONG'S TEN MAJOR MARKETS ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1.

COMPARING THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 1987 WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1986 THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE U.S. INCREASED BY 11 PER CENT. FURTHER ANALYSED BY COMMODITY, INCREASES WERE RECORDED IN MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURED ARTICLES, INCLUDING MAINLY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND PARTS AND ACCESSORIES THEREOF (BY $295 MILLION OR 24 PER CENT) TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT (BY $266 MILLION OR 52 PER CENT); AS WELL AS ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES AND ELECTRICAL PARTS THEREOF (BY $173 MILLION OR 25 PER CENT). ON THE OTHER HAND, DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN CLOTHING (BY $23 MILLION OR 1 PER CENT) AND TRAVEL GOODS, HANDBAGS AND SIMILAR CONTAINERS (BY $16 MILLION OR 18 PER CENT).

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