XN000022-1992-06-11 — Page 2

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THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1992

HK'S EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS FOR APRIL RELEASED

TOTAL

MERCHANDISE

$149,598 MILLION, INCREASED

* * * * *

TRADE

IN APRIL THIS

YEAR, WITH

AT

APRIL BY THE

BY 19% IN VALUE AS COMPARED LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (THURSDAY} CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC

OVER THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, EXPORTS DECREASED BY 3% TO $17,718 MILLION WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 28% TO $53,330 MILLION.

TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 19% TO $71,048 MILLION.

OF

MEANWHILE, THE VALUE OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY 19% ΤΟ $78,551

MILLION.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL MERCHANDISE TRADE IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS THIS YEAR, AT $535,873 MILLION, INCREASED BY 21% AS COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

OVER THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS DECREASED MARGINALLY BY 0.4% TO $66,424 MILLION, WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 32% TO $192,942 MILLION,

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 22% TO $259,366 MILLION WHILE THAT OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY 21% TO $276,507 MILLION.

THE CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE 10 MAJOR MARKETS ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1.

COMPARING APRIL 1992 WITH APRIL 1991, INCREASES WERE RECORDED THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO TAIWAN (BY 23%), CHINA (BY

13%), SINGAPORE (BY 10%) AND THE UNITED STATES (BY 4%).

IN

HOWEVER, SUBSTANTIAL DECREASES WERE RECORDED IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO GERMANY (-43%), FRANCE (-27%), THE NETHERLANDS (-25%), JAPAN (-18%) AND THE UNITED KINGDOM (-16%).

COMPARING THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS IN 1992 WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1991, THE

VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO CHINA, CANADA, SINGAPORE, TAIWAN AND THE UNITED STATES INCREASED BY 15%, 12%, 8%,

5% AND 5% RESPECTIVELY.

HOWEVER, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO GERMANY, FRANCE, THE NETHERLANDS, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND JAPAN DECREASED, BY 33%, 17%, 17%, 15% AND 2% RESPECTIVELY.

TABLE 2 SHOWS THE CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF THE MAJOR COMMODITY DIVISIONS.

COMPARING THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS IN 1992 WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1991, INCREASES IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS WERE REGISTERED FOR ELECTRIC CURRENT (BY $222 MILLION OR 85%); MACHINERY SPECIALISED FOR PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES (BY $217 MILLION OR 28%); OFFICE MACHINES AND AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BY $165 MILLION OR 3%); CLOTHING (BY $111 MILLION OR 1%); AND MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURED ARTICLES OF MAINLY JEWELLERY, GOLDSMITHS' AND SILVERSMITHS' WARES (BY $91 MILLION OR 1%).

/HOWEVER, DECREASES