Malaysia achieves fastest trade growth in 21 months at 18.3 pct in July, says Miti

KUCHING (Aug 19): Malaysia’s trade remained robust last month, growing by 18.3 per cent year-on-year, the fastest rate in 21 months, said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti).

In terms of value, trade reached RM255.88 billion, the highest since October 2022, the ministry said in a statement today.

“Exports continued its upward trajectory for the fourth consecutive month, expanding by 12.3 per cent to RM131.15 billion, while imports increased by 25.4 per cent to RM124.73 billion.

“The trade surplus amounted to RM6.42 billion, marking the 51st consecutive month of surplus since May 2020,” said Miti.

The ministry said export growth was primarily driven by increased demand for palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, machinery, equipment and parts, petroleum products, as well as electrical and electronic (E&E) products.

In terms of markets, exports to major trading partners Asean, the United States (US), the European Union (EU), and Taiwan recorded double-digit growth.

Compared to June this year, trade, exports, and imports grew by 7.6 per cent, 4.1 per cent, and 11.6 per cent respectively, said the ministry.

In the first seven months of this year, trade expanded by 9.8 per cent to RM1.652 trillion compared to the same period last year, marking the highest periodic trade value ever.

Exports increased by 5.1 per cent to RM862.23 billion and imports by 15.5 per cent to RM789.71 billion, said Miti, adding that a trade surplus of RM72.52 billion was registered for the period.

“Malaysia recorded robust gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2024. The strong expansion for the second consecutive quarter this year paves the way for the country to achieve Bank Negara Malaysia’s GDP forecast of 4 to 5 per cent for this year,” the ministry said.

Miti said this will enhance investor confidence and unlock further trade opportunities.

It pointed out the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has forecast that the volume of world merchandise (goods) trade would grow 2.6 per cent this year, a substantial rise from negative growth of 1.2 per cent recorded last year.

“Global economic conditions seem to have improved month by month, attributed to increased global demand, although the WTO has cautioned that geopolitical tensions and political uncertainty may limit the scale of the global trade recovery,” added the ministry.

Miti and its agencies pledged to continue remaining vigilant to global external shocks, which could impact Malaysia’s growth trajectory.