XN000022-1995-01-12 — Page 22

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Comparing the first 11 months of 1994 with the same period in 1993, the value of imports from all of the main suppliers showed increases of various magnitudes: Singapore (+30%), Italy (+29%), Malaysia (+28%), the Republic of Korea (+20%), the United Kingdom (+19%), China (+17%), Germany (+15%), the United States (+14%), Taiwan (+14%) and Japan (+9.1%).

The value of imports in the first 11 months of 1994, at $1,139.1 billion, increased markedly by 17% over the same period in 1993. This was supported largely by the growth in Hong Kong's re-export trade.

Table 6 shows the changes in the value of imports of the 10 principal commodity divisions.

Comparing the first 11 months of 1994 with the same period in 1993, increases were recorded in the value of imports of most principal commodity divisions.

More notable increases were registered for telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (by $25.9 billion or 31%); electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (by $20.4 billion or 19%); textiles (by $17.3 billion or 19%); office machines and automatic data processing machines (by $10.4 billion or 32%); miscellaneous manufactured articles consisting mainly of baby carriages, toys, games and sporting goods (by $9.9 billion or 14%); and non-metallic mineral manufactures (by $6.0 billion or 20%).

Over the same period, a marginal decrease in the value of imports was recorded for road vehicles (by $111 million or 0.2%).

All the trade statistics described here are measured at current prices and no account has been taken of the changes in prices between the periods of comparison.

A separate analysis of the volume and price movements of external trade for November 1994 will be released in early February.

Detailed trade statistics analysed by commodity and by country/ territory are published in trade statistics reports.