KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia registered the 209th consecutive month of trade surplus in March 2015, in widening to RM7.82 billion from the RM4.52 billion recorded in February, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said.
Trade for the month grew 3.9 per cent to RM125.11 billion with exports and imports rising to RM66.47 billion and RM58.64 billion respectively, as compared to the same month last year.
In a statement yesterday, MITI said the expansion in exports to the United States, India, Hong Kong and China supported the higher exports in March.
For the first quarter, Malaysia registered a trade surplus of RM21.33 billion with total trade valued at RM345.15 billion, comprising RM183.24 billion in exports and RM161.91 billion in imports.
In March, exports of manufactured goods to Malaysia contributed about 79.2 per cent of the total exports, valued at RM52.67 billion, an increase of 5.7 per cent from the same month last year.
The increase was driven by higher exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products, especially electronic integrated circuits, the ministry said.
Exports of mining goods in March however, were valued lower at RM7.2 billion in contributing 12.5 per cent to Malaysia’s total exports and affected by the decline in exports of crude petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG) due to lower prices.
MITI said exports of agricultural goods amounted to RM5.17 billion in March resulting from the lower exports of palm oil by RM551.1 million due to contraction in prices.
China remained Malaysia’s largest trading partner in March 2015 with a trade value of RM17.16 billion, as exports rose 6.6 per cent to RM8.3 billion compared to the same month last year.
MITI said higher exports of E&E products by RM563.3 million were the major contributors to the increase, with greater exports of electronic integrated circuits.
Imports from China were valued at RM8.86 billion, an increase of 1.6 per cent from March 2014, it added.
Trade with the United States surged 15.2 per cent to RM11.27 billion in the month, with exports recording a 17.8 per cent growth to RM6.09 billion.
Imports on the other hand, increased by 12.2 per cent to RM5.19 billion from the same month last year.
For the first quarter, exports to the United States expanded by 14.9 per cent to RM16.86 billion, while imports grew by 1.6 per cent to RM12.93 billion, resulting in a higher total trade of RM29.79 as compared with the same quarter 2014.
Of the top 10 European Union (EU) markets, eight, namely the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Greece, the Czech Republic and Sweden, registered higher export growth in March.
During the first quarter, MITI said trade with the EU rose to RM35.31 billion, with exports valued at RM17.91, while imports amounted to RM17.4 billion.
Compared to the same month last year, trade with ASEAN increased by 3.4 per cent to RM34.45 billion in March, with higher imports of RM16.28 billion.
Exports, however, declined due to reduced in exports of petroleum products, it added.
For the first quarter, Malaysia’s trade with ASEAN was valued at RM92.48 billion, contributed by the export and import value of RM50.37 billion and RM42.12 billion respectively.
Malaysia’s trade with Japan in March totalled RM12.14 billion, while for the first quarter, it stood at RM35.07 billion. — Bernama