US top market in 1992 trade surge
HONGKONG'S trade by sea and air last year rose 22.3 per cent to $988 billion and 17.7 per cent to $333 billion, respectively, against 1991, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
Seaborne goods accounted for 52.6 per cent of total external trade by value; air cargo accounted for 17.7 per cent; and land, river, postal parcels and goods hand-carried by passengers on various forms of transport accounted for 29.7 per cent.
The United States remained Hongkong's largest market for seaborne exports, with the value of goods shipped rising by 24.8 per cent.
China, which replaced Germany last year as the second-largest market for Hongkong's seaborne exports, recorded a 76.1 per cent rise in value terms, while the value of ocean exports to Germany fell by 3.9 per cent.
The statistics also showed that the value of imports from Japan, Hongkong's largest import source, rose by 36.5 per cent last year.
Imports from Taiwan were up 14.8 per cent, from the United States by 14.9 per cent, from South Korea by 28.4 per cent and from China by 19.3 per cent.
The value of total exports by air to the United States last year rose by 16.1 per cent over 1991.
The value of exports to most other major destinations also rose, with Germany being an exception with a fall of 6.6 per cent.
The value of airborne imports from Japan rose by 12.5 per cent, from the US by 27.1 per cent, from Singapore by 36.6 per cent, from Taiwan by 32.8 per cent and from Switzerland by 19.2 per cent.
The value of re-exports by ocean for baby carriages, toys, games and sporting goods rose by 35 per cent to $22.1 billion; clothing by 22.9 per cent to $10.99 billion; and footwear by 41.9 per cent to $9.76 billion.
