XN000022-1991-12-27 — Page 6

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1991

5

PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER RELEASED

RE-EXPORTS RECORDED FURTHER SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH IN NOVEMBER. DOMESTIC EXPORTS, ON THE OTHER HAND, REGISTERED A DECLINE. IMPORTS CONTINUED TO INCREASE, THOUGH AT A LESS RAPID RATE THAN IN THE EARLIER PART OF THE YEAR.

THESE ARE SHOWN IN THE PROVISIONAL TRADE FIGURES RELEASED TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

OR

OF

THE

VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS IN NOVEMBER ROSE BY $9,595 MILLION 22.5% OVER A YEAR EARLIER TO $52,300 MILLION. HOWEVER, THE VALUE DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN NOVEMBER, AT $20,456 MILLION, WAS $1,422 MILLION OR 6.5% LOWER.

TAKING RE-EXPORTS AND DOMESTIC EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS GREW BY $8,173 MILLION OR 12.7% OVER A YEAR EARLIER то $72,756 MILLION IN NOVEMBER. OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE VALUE OF IMPORTS ROSE BY $6,619 MILLION OR 10.3% TO $70,715 MILLION.

AS THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS WAS LARGER THAN THAT OF TOTAL IMPORTS, A VISIBLE TRADE SURPLUS OF $2,041 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 2.9% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN NOVEMBER 1991.

THE SURPLUS RECORDED IN NOVEMBER EQUIVALENT TO 0.8% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS.

1990 WAS $487 MILLION,

PUTTING THESE FIGURES IN PERSPECTIVE, THE VALUE OF RE-EXPORTS IN THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 1991, AT $482,354 MILLION, ROSE BY $105, 116 MILLION OR 27.9% OVER THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 1990.

OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS $3,083 MILLION OR 1.5% TO $208,746 MILLION.

GREW BY

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS IN THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, AT $691,100 MILLION, WAS THUS $108,199 MILLION OR 18.6% HIGHER THAN IN THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF LAST YEAR.

$118,836

MEANWHILE, IMPORTS GREW BY

MILLION OR 20.4% TO $702,008 MILLION. A VISIBLE TRADE DEFICIT OF $10.908 MILLION, EQUIVALENT TO 1.6% OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS, WAS RECORDED IN THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 1991. THIS COMPARES WITH A DEFICIT OF $271 MILLION RECORDED IN THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 1990.

A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN COMMENTED THAT THE DECLINE IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN NOVEMBER WAS PARTLY DUE TO A HIGH BASE OF COMPARISON IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR. BUT THE TREND OF MODEST PERFORMANCE IN DOMESTIC EXPORTS WAS MAINLY RELATED TO THE RELOCATION OF INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES ACROSS THE BORDER.

THE MARKED INCREASE IN RE-EXPORTS WAS SUPPORTED BY THE CONTINUED RAPID GROWTH IN RE-EXPORTS INVOLVING CHINA IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. MANY OF THESE RE-EXPORTS WERE ALSO RELATED ΤΟ OUTWARD PROCESSING.

/THE SPOKESMAN