ENG-1984 — Page 104

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INDUSTRY AND TRADE

The Promotion Consultancy Division is responsible for providing comprehensive information about Hong Kong to potential investors and assisting them in evaluating and setting up manufacturing projects in Hong Kong. The division liaises with the department's overseas industrial promotion offices in London, Stuttgart, San Francisco and Japan.

The Science and Technology Division comprises the secretariat for the Industry Development Board; a Standards Branch responsible for advising industry on overseas standards requirements; a Weights and Measures Branch responsible for legislation on weights and measures; the department's Standards and Calibration Laboratory; and a small secretariat responsible for the implementation of the Laboratory Accredita- tion Scheme.

External Trade

Total merchandise trade in 1984 amounted to $444,811 million, an increase of 32 per cent over 1983. Imports went up by 27 per cent to $223,370 million, domestic exports by 32 per cent to $137,936 million and re-exports by 48 per cent to $83,504 million. Domestic exports and re-exports together, valued at $221,441 million, registered an increase of 38 per cent. Appendices 3 and 4 provide summary statistics of external trade.

Hong Kong is almost entirely dependent on imported resources to meet the needs of its population of more than 5.3 million and its diverse industries. In 1984, imports of raw materials and semi-manufactured goods totalled $99,740 million, representing 45 per cent of total imports. The principal items imported were transistors, diodes, semi-conductors and integrated circuits ($9,346 million), fabrics of man-made fibres ($8,967 million), woven cotton fabrics ($6,647 million), iron and steel ($5,604 million), plastic moulding materials ($5,440 million), watch and clock movements, cases and parts ($4,725 million).

Imports of consumer goods, valued at $58,380 million, constituted 26 per cent of total imports. The major consumer goods imported were clothing ($11,613 million), radios, television receivers, gramophones, records, amplifiers and tape recorders ($6,588 million), diamonds ($3,959 million), watches ($3,631 million) and baby carriages, toys, games and sporting goods ($2,180 million).

Imports of capital goods amounted to $32,781 million, or 15 per cent of total imports. Imported capital goods consisted mainly of electrical machinery ($5,281 million), transport equipment ($4,460 million), office machines ($4,066 million), electronic components and parts for computers ($2,585 million) and textile machinery ($1,112 million).

Imports of foodstuffs were valued at $20,681 million, representing nine per cent of total imports. The principal imported food items were fish and fish preparations ($3,203 million), fruit ($2,728 million), meat and meat preparations ($2,687 million) and vegetables ($2,220 million).

Some $11,788 million of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials were imported in 1984, representing five per cent of total imports.

China and Japan were the two principal suppliers of imports in 1984, providing 25 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, of the total. China alone supplied 45 per cent of Hong Kong's imported foodstuffs. The United States ranked third, providing 11 per cent of total imports, followed by Taiwan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea and West Germany.

Clothing remained the largest component of domestic exports in 1984, valued at $46,714 million or 34 per cent of the total. Exports of miscellaneous manufactured articles consisting mainly of plastic toys and dolls, jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares and artificial flowers were valued at $21,838 million, representing 16 per cent of total