XN000022-1990-04-25 — Page 19

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1990

LEATHER EXHIBITS DEMONSTRATE DIVERSIFICATION EFFORTS

INTERNATIONAL

LEATHER

EXHIBITS AT AN

EXHIBITION CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE MANUFACTURERS' SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS IN DIVERSIFYING AND UPGRADING THE QUALITY OF HONG KONG'S EXPORTS, THE SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, MR JOHN CHAN, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY).

MR CHAN, WHO WAS SPEAKING AT THE OPENING OF THE FOUR-DAY EXHIBITION ORGANISED BY THE HONG KONG TRADE FAIR GROUP AT THE HONG KONG CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE, SAID THESE EFFORTS HAD IMPROVED HONG KONG'S COMPETITIVE EDGE IN OVERSEAS MARKETS.

HE SAID HONG KONG'S TRADE IN LEATHER, WHICH STOOD AT $27 BILLION BY THE END OF 1989, HAD ACHIEVED A SPECTACULAR GROWTH RATE 40 PER CENT OVER 1988.

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"WITH THIS ENCOURAGING TREND, WE CAN WELL LOOK FORWARD то FURTHER GROWTH IN THE 1990'S, HE SAID.

WHILE

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MR CHAN SAID THAT, AS FAR AS EXPORT MARKETS WERE CONCERNED, A SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION OF HONG KONG'S LEATHER EXPORTS, PARTICULARLY FOOTWEAR, TRAVEL GOODS AND HANDBAGS, WENT TO THE UNITED STATES, ATTEMPTS HAD BEEN MADE TO DIVERSIFY TO MARKETS SUCH AS THE UNITED KINGDOM, CANADA, JAPAN AND AUSTRALIA.

"THIS, I BELIEVE, WILL REMAIN ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS BY WHICH HONG KONG CAN SEEK ΤΟ INCREASE IT'S SHARE OF THE WORLD'S MARKETS IN LEATHER AND LEATHER PRODUCTS, HE SAID.

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LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE, MR CHAN SAID THE DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG'S TRADE AND INDUSTRY IN GENERAL WOULD BE FACED WITH SUCH PROBLEMS AS THE GENERAL SLOWDOWN IN ECONOMIC GROWTH, INCREASING COMPETITION FROM NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES AND LABOUR SHORTAGE.

"HOWEVER, GIVEN THE CONTINUED PURSUIT OF OUR FREE TRADE POLICY, TOGETHER WITH THE USUAL INNOVATIVENESS AND RESILIENCE OF HONG KONG'S MANUFACTURERS, I AM CONFIDENT THAT WE SHALL BE ABLE TO STRIVE THROUGH SUCH DIFFICULTIES AND ATTAIN BETTER RESULTS IN THE YEARS AHEAD, HR ADDED.

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THE EXHIBITION, WHICH HAS NOW BEEN RECOGNISED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT LEATHER EXHIBITION IN ASIA, DISPLAYS AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF LEATHER PRODUCTS FROM RAW HIDES AND SKINS, THROUGH SEMI-FINISHED AND FINISHED LEATHERS, CHEMICALS AND MACHINERY, TO FINISHED PRODUCTS.

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