Hong Kong is an international and regional air cargo hub. Our airport ranks first in the world in terms of international air cargo throughput. In the 12-month period to May 2000, our throughput increased by 26 per cent from the preceding period, reaching a record of 2.1 million tonnes. Although this represented just 1 per cent of the total volume of our merchandise trade, it accounted for 24 per cent in value terms. Indeed, in 1999 as much as one-third of the value of Hong Kong's merchandise exports were carried by air.
Air transport is, therefore, vital to our economic development.
The continued expansion of world trade and the rapid development of e-commerce are generating more demand for air cargo services. Hong Kong is well placed to benefit from this positive development. We have a world class airport, excellent aviation infrastructure such as air cargo handling facilities, and a competitive air freight forwarding industry. However we cannot be complacent. We need to take further measures to strengthen our competitiveness.