Exports in August were the highest monthly value recorded for the year to date, with growth supported by an expansion in offtakes to China, the United States, the European Union, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported total trade of RM122.86 billion in August 2015, a drop of 0.8 per cent from a year ago.
Of this, exports grew 4.1 per cent to RM66.53 billion and imports declined by 6.1 per cent to RM56.34 billion, giving a surplus of RM10.19 billion.
This was the 214th consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) said in a statement yesterday.
On a month-on-month basis, exports rose 5.2 per cent, while imports fell 7.4 per cent.
Miti said exports in August were the highest monthly value recorded for the year to date, with growth supported by an expansion in offtakes to China, the United States, the European Union, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
For sectors, it said exports of manufactured goods grew 10.9 per cent to RM54.55 billion in August, mainly driven by higher exports of electrical and electronic products, especially electronic integrated circuits.
Exports of agricultural goods expanded by 5.5 per cent to RM5.98 billion on higher exports of palm oil, while that for crude natural rubber increased by 28.1 per cent.
However, exports of mining goods decreased by 34.9 per cent to RM5.63 billion due to the decline in exports of liquefied natural gas and crude petroleum.
Major exports in August 2015 were electrical and electronic products valued at RM25.08 billion, with a share of 37.7 per cent of total exports, an increase of 16.7 per cent from a year ago.
Petroleum products (RM4.72 billion, 7.1 per cent, -7.1 per cent), chemicals and chemical products (RM4.58 billion, 6.9 per cent, +0.7 per cent), palm oil which includes crude palm oil, fractionated palm oil, palm kernel oil, olein and stearin (RM3.95 billion, 5.9 per cent, +4.0 per cent) and manufacture of metal (RM3.05 billion, 4.6 per cent +41.7 per cent).
For the January-August period, exports of manufactured goods improved by 3.0 per cent to RM398.12 billion with a 79.9 per cent share of total exports, while imports decreased by 2.0 per cent to RM443.83 billion. — Bernama