XN000022-1992-08-10 — Page 6

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MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 1992

HE URGED THE CLEAREES TO MAKE USE OF THIS FINAL OPPORTUNITY FOR APPEAL.

COMPENSATION AND

REHOUSING

HOWEVER, MR HU STRESSED THAT THE PRINCIPLES WOULD BE MAINTAINED WHEN REVIEWING THEIR CASES.

"IT IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS EQUITY IN TREATMENT BETWEEN THOSE WHO HAVE EARLIER ACCEPTED THE COMPENSATION OFFERS AND THESE UNSETTLED CASES, HE SAID.

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THE NEWS OF REOPENING THE APPEAL PERIOD WAS CONVEYED TO THE CLEAREES BY MR HU AND THE DEPUTY REGIONAL SECRETARY FOR HONG KONG AND KOWLOON, MR PHILIP CHOK, AT A SEPARATE MEETING WITH THE CLEAREES' REPRESENTATIVES TODAY.

PRICE AND VOLUME MOVEMENTS OF EXTERNAL TRADE IN MAY

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YEAR

THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS THIS DECREASED BY 1%, WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 29% AS COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (MONDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VOLUME TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 20%. IMPORTS INCREASED BY 21% IN VOLUME.

OF

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

AS REGARDS PRICE CHANGES OVER THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 1% WHILE THOSE OF RE- EXPORTS ROSE BY 2%. IMPORT PRICES WERE VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED.

PRICE CHANGES

ARE REFLECTED BY CHANGES IN UNIT VALUE INDEXES, WHICH ARE COMPILED BASED ON AVERAGE UNIT VALUES OR, FOR CERTAIN COMMODITIES, BASED ON SPECIFIC PRICE DATA.

THE TERMS OF TRADE INDEX IS THE RATIO OF TOTAL EXPORT PRICE INDEX TO IMPORT PRICE INDEX. IT INCREASED BY 1% IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 1992 AS COMPARED WITH THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.

COMPARING MAY 1992 WITH MAY 1991, THE VOLUME OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS WAS VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 25%.

THE VOLUME OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 18%. THE VOLUME OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY 21%.

OVER THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, THE PRICES OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS REMAINED VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED, WHILE THOSE OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 1%. IMPORT PRICES ROSE BY 1%.

/THE CHANGES