XN000022-1990-04-09 — Page 4

"ONDAY, APRIL 9, 1990

|

SUPPORT

BRITISH

"THE MAJORITY OF TH E WHO SPOKE EXPRESSED VERY STRONG FOR THE PACKAGE AND EXPRESS: GREAT APPRECIATION FOR WHAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD DONE. THE RECOGNISED THAT IT WAS A COURAGEOUS DECISION ΤΟ GO AHEAD WITH THE PACKAGE GIVEN THE POLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE IINITED KINGDOM. I WAS GRATEFUL APPRECIATION THAT AS SHOWN FOR THE DIFFICULT

L

STANCE WHICH TAKEN AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE DETERMINATION WHICH WE HAVE TO TAKE THIS PACKAGE THROUGH.

FOR THE WE HAVE

"OBVIOUSLY THERE WERE A NUMBER OF POINTS RAISED, DETAILED POINTS ABOUT THE OPERATION OF THE SCHEME WHICH OBVIOUSLY I'VE UNDERTAKEN TO TAKE AWAY AND LOOK AT VERY CAREFULLY IN CONSULTATION WITH MY COLLEAGUES IN THE HOME OFFICE AND WITH THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT, HE SAID.

MEMBERS.

IN THE EVENING, MR MAUDE HAD A MEETING AND DINNER WITH OMELCO

0

PRICE AND VOLUME MOVEMENTS OF EXTERNAL TRADE IN JANUARY RELEASED

* * *

THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECREASED BY 5 PER CENT, WHILE THAT OF THE RE-EXPORTS GREW BY 1 PER CENT IN JANUARY 1990 AS COMPARED WITH THE SAME MONTH IN 1989, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (MONDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

+

TAKING THEM TOGETHER THERE WAS AN OVERALL DECREASE OF 2 PER CENT IN THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS. IMPORTS DECREASED BY 7 PER CENT IN VOLUME TERMS.

THE GROWTH IN THE VOLUME OF TRADE IS DERIVED FROM THE GROWTH IN TRADE VALUES, HAVING DISCOUNTED THE EFFECT OF PRICE CHANGES.

AS REGARDS PRICE CHANGES OVER THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 2 PER CENT AND 5 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY, WHILE THOSE OF IMPORTS ROSE BY 3 PER CENT. AS A RESULT, THE TERMS OF TRADE INDEX (EXPRESSED AS A RATIO OF TOTAL EXPORT PRICE INDEX TO IMPORT PRICE INDEX) INCREASED BY 1 PER CENT.

PRICES ARE BASED ON UNIT VALUES WHICH DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OR QUALITY OF GOODS TRADED, EXCEPT FOR SOME SELECTED COMMODITIES FOR WHICH SPECIFICATION PRICE INDEXES ARE AVAILABLE.

THE

THE

CARE SHOULD BE EXERCISED IN INTERPRETING THE CHANGES IN VOLUME OF TRADE IN ANY INDIVIDUAL MONTH IN ISOLATION, IN VIEW OF FLUCTUATIONS. THAT MAY OCCUR FROM MONTH TO MONTH. IN PARTICULAR, THE TRADE FIGURES FOR THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF THE YEAR ARE LIKELY ΤΟ BE AFFECTED BY THE TIMING OF THE LUNAR NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS.

/COMPARING THE