Malaysia’s trade performance remained resilient and maintained its upward momentum for the month of August as trade increased by 15.7% to RM169.79 billion, the seventh consecutive month of double-digit growth since February.
Exports grew by 18.4% to RM95.59 billion, the 12th consecutive month of year-on-year (y-o-y) expansion since September 2020. Imports expanded by 12.5% to RM74.2 billion while trade surplus was up by 44.7% to RM21.39 billion.
Trade, exports and trade surplus registered the highest monthly value for August. The export growth was contributed mainly by robust external demand for petroleum products, electrical and electronic (E&E) products mainly due to higher shipments of semiconductors as well as chemicals and chemical products. Exports to all major markets namely ASEAN, China, the United States, the European Union, and Japan recorded positive growth. On a month-on-month basis, trade surplus surged by 55.5% while trade, exports and imports declined by 6.1%, 1.8% and 11.2% respectively.
For the first eight months of 2021, trade expanded by 22.9% to RM1.407 trillion from the same period last year. Exports for the period grew by 24.9% to RM778.49 billion, the fastest growth recorded since 1998. Imports rose by 20.4% to RM628.29 billion and trade surplus surged by 48.2% to RM150.2 billion.
Exports of manufactured goods accounted for 84.6% of total exports, registering a growth of 15.4% y-o-y to RM80.83 billion. Petroleum products, E&E products, chemicals and chemical products, manufactures of metal as well as palm oil-based manufactured products registered more than RM1 billion expansion in exports. Agriculture goods (7.7% share) rose by 28.5% to RM7.34 billion compared to 2020, the sixth consecutive month of double-digit growth since March 2021.
This was supported mainly by higher exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products. Exports of mining goods (7.4% share) surged by 50.6% y-o-y to RM7.05 billion, the fifth straight month of double-digit growth since April 2021. The increase was buoyed mainly by higher exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) which increased by RM1.86 billion.
Major exports in August 2021:
• E&E products, valued at RM34.27 billion and accounted for 35.8% of total exports, increased by 6.8% from August 2020;
• Petroleum products, RM7.14 billion, 7.5% of total exports, increased by 56.5%;
• Chemicals and chemical products, RM5.81 billion, 6.1% of total exports, increased by 59.1%;
Embargo until 1200 hours, Tuesday, 28 th September 2021
• Palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, RM5.54 billion, 5.8% of total exports, increased by 35.1%; and
• Manufactures of metal, RM4.67 billion, 4.9% of total exports, increased by 69.8%.
Compared to July 2021, exports of mining goods expanded by 24.9% while exports of manufactured and agriculture goods were down by 2.4% and 13.3%, respectively. For the period of January to August 2021, almost all products recorded export expansion. Exports of manufactured goods increased by 25.8% to RM673.01 billion compared to the same period of 2020, boosted by higher exports of E&E products, rubber products, petroleum products, manufactures of metal as well as chemicals and chemical products. Exports of agriculture goods rose by 32.1% to RM58.13 billion attributed to higher exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products. Exports of mining goods rose by 7.6% to RM44.35 billion underpinned by higher exports of LNG and crude petroleum.
Trade Performance with Major Markets
Trade with ASEAN edged up by 23.9% y-o-y to RM44.21 billion, contributed 26% to Malaysia’s total trade. Exports increased by 25% to RM26.4 billion, owing to higher exports of E&E products and petroleum products. Imports from ASEAN expanded by 22.3% to RM17.81 billion.
Exports to major markets in ASEAN that recorded expansion were Singapore which increased by RM2.37 billion, due to higher exports of E&E products, Thailand (↑RM682.7 million, crude petroleum), Viet Nam (↑RM435.6 million, E&E products), Indonesia (↑RM1.13 billion, petroleum products) and the Philippines (↑RM556 million, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products). Compared to July 2021, imports increased by 0.9% while trade and exports declined
by 2.4% and 4.5%, respectively.
In August 2021, trade with China recorded a growth of 14.3% y-o-y to RM32.17 billion, the ninth consecutive month of double-digit expansion and represented 18.9% of Malaysia’s total trade. Exports to China improved by 5.7% to RM15.19 billion following higher exports of LNG as well as chemicals and chemical products. Imports from
China rose by 23.4% to RM16.99 billion.
Trade with the US accounted for 9.9% of Malaysia’s total trade or RM16.75 billion, an increase of 5.8% y-o-y. Exports rebounded by 12.1% to RM10.84 billion on higher exports of E&E products, rubber products as well as machinery, equipment and parts. Imports from the US slipped by 4.2% to RM5.91 billion.
