ENG-2012 — Page 118

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Commerce and Industry

Domestic Exports

Jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares, and other articles of precious or semi-precious materials formed the largest component of domestic exports, valued at $8.9 billion or 15.1 per cent of the total value of domestic exports in 2012. Other major export items included plastics in primary and non-primary forms; electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof and office machines and automatic data processing machines.

The Mainland, the USA and Switzerland were Hong Kong's largest markets during the year, absorbing 44.2 per cent, 11.5 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively of the total value of domestic exports.

Re-exports

In 2012, electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof worth $914.2 billion were the principal commodities re-exported (27.1 per cent of the total value of re- exports). This was followed by re-exports of telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment, which amounted to $628.4 billion (18.6 per cent of the total value of re-exports). The Mainland, Japan and Taiwan were the main origins of the re- exports, while the Mainland, the US and Japan were the main destinations.

The Manufacturing Sector

With the expansion of manufacturing activities offshore since the 1980s, Hong Kong has evolved into a strategic control centre with an increasingly globalised production network. In spite of Hong Kong's economic restructuring, the manufacturing sector continued to provide employment for 112,000 people (3 per cent of overall employment) in 2012.

Manufacturers of food products and beverages were the largest employers in the manufacturing sector as at December 2012, followed by employers in the printing and reproduction of recorded media industries. Chart 1 shows the breakdown of employment within the manufacturing sector as at December 2012.

Chart 1

Number of Persons Employed by the Manufacturing Sector as at December 2012

Others

30.1% (31,646)

Rubber and plastics products

(except furniture, toys, sports

goods and stationery)

2.3% (2,373)

Food products

and beverages

24.4% (25,684)

Fabricated metal products

(except machinery and equipment) 3.1% (3,310)

Pharmaceuticals, medicinal

chemical and botanical products

4.2% (4,374)

Electronics 5.0% (5,265)

Textiles 5.1% (5,380)

86

Printing and reproduction

of recorded media

16.5% (17,405)

Wearing apparel 9.4% (9,871)