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However, the value of imports from Japan decreased by 3.4%.

Taking all sources together, the value of imports in the first quarter of 1996, at $347.1 billion, increased by 6.4% over the same period in 1995.

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

divisions.

Comparing the first quarter of 1996 with the same period in 1995, increases in the value of imports were registered for electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (by $6.3 billion or 16%); office machines and automatic data processing machines (by $3.9 billion or 29%); clothing (by $1.4 billion or 7%); general industrial machinery and equipment, and machine parts (by $1.2 billion or 11%); footwear (by $994 million or 7.9%); and miscellaneous manufactured articles consisting mainly of baby carriages, toys, games and sporting goods (by $952 million or 4.6%).

Over the same period, a decrease in the value of imports was recorded for textiles (by $2.2 billion or 7.2%).

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

A separate analysis of the volume and price movements of external trade for March 1996 will be released in early June 1996.

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

The March 1996 issue of the "Hong Kong External Trade" with detailed analyses on the performance of Hong Kong's external trade in March 1996 will be on sale at $129 per copy around May 23.

The report can be purchased at either the Government Publications Centre. ground floor, Low Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong or the Publications Unit of the Census and Statistics Department, 19th floor, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

Enquiries regarding regular subscription to this report may be directed to the Publications (Sales) Office, 28th floor, Siu On Centre, 188 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Tel 2598 8194) and enquiries on trade statistics to the Census and Statistics Department (Tel 2582 4915).

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