KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): Malaysia’s February trade data remained on an upward trajectory, with a double-digit year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 11% to RM204.99 billion, while exports expanded 9.8% to RM112.28 billion.
Imports for the month increased 12.4% to RM92.71 billion.
A trade surplus has been recorded for 34 consecutive months since May 2020, valued at RM19.56 billion.
“Trade, exports, and imports registered the highest monthly value for February. The export growth was supported by strong exports of petroleum products, electrical and electronic (E&E) products, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG),” the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) said in a statement on Monday (March 20).
It said exports to major trading partners, notably Asean and the US, recorded double-digit growth.
MITI said that compared to January 2023, the trade surplus grew by 7.9%, while trade (-1.1%), exports (-0.3%), and imports (-1.9%) slipped, due to shorter working days.
From January to February 2023, trade rose by 6.1% to RM412.17 billion, compared to the same period in 2022. Exports expanded by 5.4% to RM224.93 billion, while imports climbed by 7% to RM187.24 billion.
The trade surplus edged down marginally by 1.8% to RM37.69 billion. Trade, exports, and imports registered the highest value for the period, it said.
Major exports
Among the major exports, E&E products were valued at RM44.27 billion, and accounted for 39.4% of total exports, which increased by 11.7% from February 2022.
Petroleum products were worth RM12.26 billion, and made up 10.9% of total exports, a surge of 67.5%, followed by chemicals and chemical products (RM6.16 billion, 5.5% of total exports, which decreased by 7.2%), LNG (RM5.42 billion, 4.8% of total exports, which increased by 32.9%), and palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products (RM5.38 billion, 4.8% of total exports, which decreased by 13.8%).
On a month-on-month basis, exports of manufactured (0.6%) and agricultural goods (2.1%) improved, while exports of mining goods fell by 10.1%.
Asean takes lead
In February 2023, trade with Asean comprised 27.4% of Malaysia’s total trade, rising by 10% y-o-y to RM56.14 billion.
Exports grew by 14.8% to RM33.69 billion, the 19th straight month of double-digit expansion, underpinned by higher exports of petroleum products and E&E products.
Imports from Asean expanded by 3.5% to RM22.45 billion.
Exports to all Asean markets recorded growth except Vietnam. Exports to major markets that recorded increases were Singapore, which grew by RM4.01 billion, on account of robust exports of E&E products, Thailand (RM308.5 million, crude petroleum), and Indonesia (RM450.7 million, E&E products).
Compared to January 2023, trade (1.6%) and imports (6.1%) expanded, while exports dropped by 1.2%, said Miti.
For the period of January to February 2023, trade with Asean climbed by 7.8% to RM111.4 billion, compared to the same period in 2022. Exports to this region increased by 12.7% to RM67.79 billion, driven by strong exports of petroleum products, E&E products, and crude petroleum.
Imports from Asean edged up by 0.8% to RM43.61 billion.
Import performance
Total imports in February 2023 grew by 12.4% y-o-y to RM92.71 billion.
The three main categories of imports by end use, which accounted for 68.9% of total imports, were intermediate goods, valued at RM48.98 billion, or 52.8% of total imports, an increase of 3.3% y-o-y, following higher imports of primary fuel and lubricants.
Capital goods, valued at RM7.89 billion or 8.5% of total imports, declined by 0.3%, due to lower imports of non-transport capital goods.
Consumption goods, valued at RM7.06 billion, or 7.6% of total imports, grew by 1.2%, as a result of higher imports of primary food and beverages mainly for household consumption.
During the period of January to February 2023, imports of intermediate goods contracted by 0.5% to RM97.42 billion, compared to the same period last year, followed by capital goods (-1.2% to RM17.57 billion) and consumption goods (-2.1% to RM15.3 billion).
Source: The Edge Markets
Source: The Edge Markets
March 27, 2023
