ENG-1963 — Page 103

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

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imports and 42 per cent of all the Colony's food imports. Other imports from China included textile yarn and fabrics. The value of goods imported from China increased by 23 per cent compared with 1962. Imports from Japan, the second largest supplier, showed an increase of 13 per cent in value compared with 1962. Imports of textile goods represented 36 per cent of all imports from Japan. Other imports from Japan included machinery, base metals, chemi- cals and miscellaneous manufactured articles. Among other major suppliers, imports from the United States fell, while those from Britain recorded an increase over 1962. Imports from Britain con- sisted mainly of machinery, transport equipment, textiles and base metals. The principal imports from the United States were ma- chinery, tobacco, fruits and vegetables, raw-cotton, silver, platinum, gems and jewellery, plastic moulding materials and medicinal and pharmaceutical products.

Despite the shortage of water which persisted throughout the year, the value of the Colony's domestic exports reached the record total of $3,831 million in 1963. This was an increase of 15 per cent over the previous year and represented nearly 77 per cent of total exports by value. Domestic exports continued to be con- centrated heavily on the products of the textile and garment manu- facturing industries, which accounted for 53 per cent by value in 1963. Exports of the Colony's next largest export industry, the manufacture of plastic goods, such as artificial flowers, toys and dolls and buttons, made up a further 10 per cent. The balance included a wide range of light industrial products. The direction of the export trade is influenced by many factors, among the more important being the advantages of the Commonwealth preference system and the varying degrees of protection practised particularly in the more developed countries. The volume depends in many cases upon the extent to which trade promotion activities and negotiation can find new outlets and overcome such barriers as exchange controls, quota restrictions and tariffs.

In 1963, the United States remained the largest market for the Colony's domestic products, taking 25 per cent by value. Purchases by the United States increased by nearly $95 million or 11 per cent; but the rate of increase had slowed down compared with 1962. Other important purchasers of Hong Kong goods were the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Western Germany, Japan, Canada and