XN000022-1991-05-25 — Page 2

SATURDAY, MAY 25, 1991

1

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR APRIL RELEASED

IN

HONG KONG'S TRADE PERFORMANCE IN APRIL WAS MUCH BETTER THAN

FIGURES. RELEASED TODAY MARCH, ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONAL TRADE (SATURDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

IN THE GROWTH RATE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS PICKED UP CONSIDERABLY

RETAINED IMPORTS APRIL, WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS REMAINED ROBUST. ALSO GREW STRONGLY.

THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN APRIL GREW BY $1,786 OR 10.9% OVER A YEAR EARLIER, TO $18,193 MILLION.

MILLION

THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS GREW EVEN FASTER, BY $10,654 MILLION OR 34.5% TO $41,514 MILLION OVER THE SAME PERIOD.

TOTAL

TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE

MILLION OR EXPORTS IN APRIL, AT $59,707 MILLION, WAS $12,440 26.3% HIGHER THAN IN THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR,

OF

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE VALUE OF IMPORTS ROSE BY $15,177 MILLION OR 30% TO $65,817 MILLION.

OF TOTAL AS THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS WAS SMALLER THAN THAT IMPORTS, A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $6,110 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 9.3% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN APRIL 1991.

THIS COMPARES WITH A DEFICIT OF $3,373 MILLION, EQUIVALENT 6.7% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, RECORDED A YEAR EARLIER.

ΤΟ

DOMESTIC EARLIER, TO

PUTTING THESE FIGURES INTO PERSPECTIVE, THE VALUE OF EXPORTS INCREASED BY $3,827 MILLION OR 6.1% OVER A YEAR $66,694 MILLION IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 1991 COMBINED.

THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY $31,864 MILLION OR TO $145,873 MILLION OVER THE SAME PERIOD.

FIRST

FOUR

27.9%

MONTHS,

AT

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN THE $212,567 MILLION, WAS THUS $35,691 MILLION OR 20.2% HIGHER THAN IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

MEANWHILE, IMPORTS GREW BY $45,171 MILLION OR 24.6% TO $228,492

MILLION.

IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 1991 COMBINED,

OF $15,925 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 7.0%

DEFICIT IMPORTS,

WAS RECORDED.

A VISIBLE TRADE OF THE VALUE OF

THE DEFICIT RECORDED IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 3.5% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS.

WAS $6,445

SPOKESMAN MARKED

COMMENTING ON THE LATEST TRADE FIGURES, A GOVERNMENT POINTED OUT THAT THE PERFORMANCE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS SHOWED A IMPROVEMENT IN APRIL.

/THIS WAS