XN000022-1988-06-25 — Page 10

SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 1988

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PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR MAY

HONG KONG'S DOMESTIC EXPORTS RECORDED A LOW YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH RATE IN MAY 1988, WHILE RE-EXPORTS CONTINUED TO RISE RAPIDLY, ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES RELEASED TODAY (SATURDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN MAY 1988 WAS $17,274 MILLION, $838 MILLION OR 5.1 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN MAY 1987, WHILE THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 46.1 PER CENT OR $6,770 MILLION TO $21,460 MILLION.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS (DOMESTIC EXPORTS PLUS RE-EXPORTS), AT $38,734 MILLION IN MAY 1988, WAS, THUS, 24.4 PER CENT OR $7,608 MILLION HIGHER THAN IN MAY 1987.

THE VALUE OF IMPORTS GREW BY 26.9 PER CENT OR $8,384 MILLION OVER THE SAME PERIOD, TO $39,558 MILLION IN MAY 1988.

AS THE VALUE OF IMPORTS IN MAY GREW FASTER THAN THAT OF TOTAL EXPORTS, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT WAS LARGER THAN IN THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR,

AMOUNTED TO

IN MAY 1988, THE VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 2.1 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS. COMPARES WITH A DEFICIT OF $48 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO ONLY 0.2 CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN MAY 1987.

$824

THIS PER

PUTTING THE TRADE FIGURES FOR MAY IN PERSPECTIVE, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 1988 WAS $172,462 MILLION, MADE UP OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS ог $77,499 MILLION AND RE-EXPORTS OF $94,963 MILLION.

COMPARED WITH THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF

1987, IN VALUE TERMS TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY $37,530 MILLION OR 27.8 PER CENT, DOMESTIC EXPORTS BY $7,996 MILLION OR 11.5 PER CENT, AND RE-EXPORTS BY $29,534 MILLION OR 15.1 PER CENT.

IMPORTS GREW BY $38,476

OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE VALUE OF MILLION OR 27.5 PER CENT, TO $178,505 MILLION.

A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $6,043 MILLION, EQUIVALENT ΤΟ 3.1 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 1988.

THIS COMPARES WITH A DEFICIT OF $5,097 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 3.6 PER CENT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

/COMMENTING ON

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