KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): Malaysia’s trade in the first eight months of 2022 jumped 33.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM1.873 trillion.

In a statement on Tuesday (Sept 20), Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said exports surpassed RM1 trillion, the shortest period to reach this milestone, expanding by 30.3% to RM1.014 trillion.

He said imports climbed by 36.7% to RM858.83 billion, while the trade surplus was up by 3.7% to RM155.57 billion.

Trade, exports, imports and the trade surplus registered the highest value for the period, he said.

Azmin also said Malaysia’s trade remained sturdy in August, with double-digit growth recorded for trade, exports and imports.

He said this was the highest monthly value for the month of August.

Trade surged by 56.7% to RM265.74 billion from August 2021, the 19th consecutive month of double-digit growth. Exports increased by 48.2% to RM141.33 billion, the 13th successive month of double-digit growth.

Imports also leaped by 67.6% to RM124.41 billion, while the trade surplus contracted by 19.9% to RM16.92 billion.

The export expansion was attributed to higher shipments of electrical and electronics (E&E) products, petroleum products, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as optical and scientific equipment.

Exports of petroleum products, LNG as well as optical and scientific equipment registered the highest monthly value.

Meanwhile, exports to major trading partners, notably Asean, China, the US, the European Union and Japan, recorded double-digit growth.

The highest monthly export value was registered for Japan.

The minister also said exports of manufactured goods in August, which represented 84.5% of total exports, rose by 47.7% y-o-y to RM119.48 billion.

He said this was the 13th consecutive month of double-digit expansion. The growth was backed by higher exports of E&E products, petroleum products, optical and scientific equipment as well as machinery, equipment and parts, each recording a more than RM1 billion increase in exports.

Exports of mining goods (with a 7.6% share) soared by 59.1% y-o-y to RM10.77 billion, the 17th successive month of double-digit growth underpinned by growing exports of LNG and crude petroleum.

Azmin said that in August, trade with Asean countries leaped by 61% y-o-y to RM70.87 billion, constituting 26.7% of Malaysia’s total trade.

Exports surged by 60.4% to RM42.02 billion, the fastest growth registered.

The expansion was buoyed by higher exports of petroleum products and E&E products.

Imports from Asean soared by 61.9% to RM28.85 billion.

Azmin added that exports to all Asean markets recorded increases, notably to Singapore, which grew by RM7.36 billion, due to higher exports of E&E products, followed by Indonesia (up RM3.51 billion mainly due to petroleum products), Thailand (up RM2.18 billion; E&E products) and Vietnam (up RM310.5 million; E&E products).