The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has reported that Malaysia’s trade performance in March 2021 expanded by 25.6 percent to RM185.74 billion compared to March 2020.
Exports had increased by 31 percent amounting to RM104.95 billion while imports saw a hike of 19.2 percent to RM80.79. Trade surplus surged by 96.1 percent to RM24.15 billion.
“Exports were boosted by higher global demand notably for electrical and electronic (E&E) products mainly semiconductors used in 5G technology and high-performance computing as well as rubber products,” MITI said.
Exports to major markets namely ASEAN, China, the United States (US) and the European Union recorded a new high.
Total trade for the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 grew by 14.8 percent to RM505.65 billion, compared to Q1 2020. Exports increased by 18.2 percent to RM282.14 billion and imports rose by 10.8 percent to RM223.51 billion. Trade surplus expanded by 58.6 percent to RM58.63 billion.
Major exports in March 2021:
· E&E products, valued at RM39.54 billion and constituted 37.7% of total exports, increased by 47.1% from March 2020;
· Rubber products, RM7.32 billion, 7% of total exports, surged by 210.6%; Embargo until 1200 hours, Wednesday, 28 th April 2021
· Chemicals and chemical products, RM6.32 billion, 6% of total exports, increased by 32.3%; · Palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, RM5.46 billion, 5.2% of total exports, increased by 54.1%; and
· Manufactures of metal, RM5.32 billion, 5.1% of total exports, increased by 88.4%.
On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, exports of manufactured, agriculture and mining goods expanded by 20.2 percent, 31.4 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
During the first three months of 2021, exports of manufactured goods rose by 21.9% to RM245.9 billion compared to the same period of 2020, on account of higher exports of E&E products, rubber products, manufactures of metal, chemicals and chemical products, machinery, equipment and parts as well as optical and scientific equipment
Exports of agriculture goods grew by 15.2 percent to RM18.17 billion attributed to higher exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products. Exports of mining goods contracted by 21.9 percent to RM15.36 billion due to lower exports of LNG and crude petroleum.
