XN000022-1988-05-24 — Page 3

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TUESDAY, MAY 24, 1988

PUTTING THE TRADE FIGURES FOR APRIL IN OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF RE-EXPORTS OF $73,504 MILLION.

THE VALUE

PERSPECTIVE,

OF 1988 WAS $133,729 $60,225 MILLION AND

1987, IN VALUE TERMS 28.8 PER CENT, DOMESTIC

COMPARED WITH THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY $29,923 MILLION OR EXPORTS BY $7,159 MILLION OR 13.5 PER CENT, AND RE-EXPORTS BY $22,764 MILLION OR 44.9 PER CENT.

IMPORTS GREW BY $30,093

OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE VALUE OF MILLION OR 27.6 PER CENT, TO $138,947 MILLION.

A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $5,218 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 3.8 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 1988.

THIS COMPARES WITH A DEFICIT OF $5,048 MILLION, EQUIVALENT ΤΟ 4.6 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

COMMENTING ON THESE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT SPOKESMAN SAID THAT THE SLOW-DOWN IN THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN APRIL, COMPARED WITH THE CORRESPONDING GROWTH RATE RECORDED IN THE FIRST QUARTER, WAS NOT UNEXPECTED, GIVEN THE RATHER SLOW GROWTH IN RETAINED IMPORTS OF RAW MATERIALS

SEMI-MANUFACTURES IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR.

AND

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE RE-EXPORT TRADE WITH CHINA HAD CONTRIBUTED TO THE RAPID GROWTH IN OVERALL RE-EXPORTS IN APRIL.

MORE OBSERVATIONS OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS ARE, HOWEVER, REQUIRED BEFORE ANY FIRM TREND REGARDING THE SLOW-DOWN IN THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS CAN BE SAID TO HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED.

THE FOLLOWING