ENG-2001 — Page 174

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COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

The AFCD opened the Endangered Species Resource Centre in May to promote public awareness on the protection of endangered species. The centre has a collection of about 500 animal and plant specimens of some 100 CITES-listed species. All of them are confiscated from the AFCD's enforcement work. Guided visits are organised for traders, schools and the general public.

Printing

A reputation for good printing quality, quick and reliable delivery, and competitive prices continues to boost the international status of Hong Kong's printing industry. Hong Kong is a leading printing and publishing centre, and at the end of 2001 there were 4 849 printing establishments employing about 44 100 people, and more than 200 publishing houses. Many of these were from overseas and had set up offices or regional headquarters in Hong Kong.

The industry in December constituted 24.3 per cent of all manufacturing establishments and 21.7 per cent of employment in the manufacturing sector. Most of the printing factories (68 per cent) are engaged in general jobbing work, and the remainder generally deal with related work such as traditional pre-press and finishing services. Newspaper printers numbered 40 (as at September).

Despite competition from new media such as electronic publishing, Hong Kong printers are investing substantially in advanced machinery and equipment. In recent years they have shifted the labour-intensive production processes to the Mainland. The use of state-of-the-art equipment, especially that employing digital technology, has enabled the industry not only to raise quality and productivity to new levels, but also to meet changing market needs. Some more sophisticated printing companies. and publishers have already started to switch to digital print production and electronic publishing.

Domestic exports of printed matter decreased in value terms by 11.9 per cent over the previous year. Material printed locally with a total value of $4 billion was exported with the United States, the Mainland, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and the Philippines being the major export markets. Books, pamphlets, newspapers, journals and periodicals accounted for 60 per cent of exports of printed products. Overall, the printing and publishing industries contributed 13 per cent of the manufacturing sector's gross output in 2000.