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Apr exports value down 13%

The value of Hong Kong's total exports decreased to $338.3 billion in April, down 13% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The value of imports of goods decreased 11.9% to $374.9 billion for the same period.   A trade deficit of $36.6 billion, or 9.8% of the value of imports, was recorded in April.   Comparing the three-month period ending April with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of exports rose 15.4%, while that of imports increased 10.7%.   The Government noted that the value of merchandise exports declined further from a year earlier in April. Exports to the Mainland, the US and the European Union all shrank and exports to other major Asian markets recorded decreases of varying degrees.   Looking ahead, it added that the weakness in the advanced economies will continue to weigh on Hong Kong's export performance, though the expected faster recovery of the Mainland economy should

Poultry imports banned

The Centre for Food Safety today suspended the import of poultry meat, poultry products and eggs from areas in Korea, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland and Japan.     The ban was issued in response to notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Polish General Veterinary Inspectorate and the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries about the outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 and H5 avian influenza, the centre explained.   The centre has contacted the Korean, Norwegian, Dutch, Polish and Japanese authorities and will monitor information from the organisation and the relevant authorities on the outbreaks.   In the first nine months of this year, Hong Kong imported about 10 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 280,000 poultry eggs from Korea.   About 15 tonnes of frozen poultry meat were imported from Norway, while about 730 tonnes of frozen poultry meat were imported from the Netherlands.   Around 4,070 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 24.82 million poultry eggs were imported from Poland.   Additionally, about 40 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, 2,530 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 210.28 million poultry eggs were imported from Japan.
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