Malaysia’s Trade Streak Continues With September Hitting 26% To RM196B

Malaysia’s trade continued its stellar performance with a new high for trade, exports and trade surplus monthly value. Trade expanded by 25.5% to RM195.54 billion for September 2021 compared to last year being the eighth consecutive month of double-digit growth since February 2021.

Exports maintained above RM100 billion for the fourth time this year, grew by 24.7% to RM110.83 billion. This was the 13th consecutive month of year-on-year (y-o-y) expansion since September last year. Imports increased by 26.5% to RM84.7 billion and trade surplus rose by 19.1% to RM26.13 billion. The export growth was contributed mainly by robust external demand for petroleum products, manufactures of metal, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products as well as electrical and electronic products. Exports of manufactures of metal, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products as well as E&E products registered the highest monthly value. Meanwhile, exports to ASEAN, China, the United States and Japan recorded double-digit growth with exports to China registering the highest monthly value ever.

On a month-on-month basis, trade, exports, imports and trade surplus recorded double-digit growth of 15.2%, 16%, 14.2% and 22.2%, respectively. Trade for the third quarter of 2021 grew by 18.1% to RM546.21 billion, compared to Q3 2020. Exports increased by 15.8% to RM303.74 billion, the highest quarterly value. Imports expanded by 21% to RM242.47 billion resulting in a trade surplus of RM61.28 billion, which decreased marginally by 1.1%. Compared to the second quarter (Q2) of 2021, exports and trade surplus were up by 0.1% and 8.7% while trade and imports declined by 0.8% and 1.8%, respectively.

For the first nine months of 2021, trade expanded by 23.2% to RM1.602 trillion from the same period last year. Exports grew by 24.9% to RM889.32 billion, the fastest growth recorded since 1998. Imports rose by 21.1% to RM712.99 billion and trade surplus surged by 43.1% to RM176.33 billion.

Export Performance of Major Sectors
Exports of Manufactured and Agriculture Goods Recorded the Highest Value Exports of manufactured goods in September 2021 reached its highest monthly value at RM94.86 billion or 85.6% of total exports, grew by 21.6%. Petroleum products, manufactures of metal, E&E products, chemicals and chemical products, palm oil-based
manufactured products, other manufactures especially solid-state storage devices (SSD) as well as iron and steel products respectively registered more than RM1 billion expansion in exports. Exports of agriculture goods (8.7% share) recorded the highest monthly value of RM9.67 billion, grew by 47.7% compared to September 2020. This was the seventh consecutive month of double-digit growth since March 2021.

The growth was contributed mainly by higher exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products which registered a record high export value.

Trade Performance with Major Markets
Trade with ASEAN accounted for 26% of Malaysia’s total trade, expanding by 31.1% y-o-y to RM50.77 billion. Exports grew by 31.4% to RM30.28 billion due to higher exports of petroleum products and E&E products. Imports from ASEAN rose by 30.6% to RM20.49 billion.

Exports to major markets in ASEAN that recorded expansion were Singapore which increased by RM3.96 billion, due to higher exports of E&E products, Thailand (↑RM291.6 million, LNG), Indonesia (↑RM1.73 billion, petroleum products), Viet Nam (↑RM255.8 million, metalliferous ores and metal scrap) and the Philippines (↑RM443
million, petroleum products). Compared to August 2021, trade, exports and imports edged up by 14.8%, 14.7% and
15.1%, respectively.

China – Exports Registered a New High
China which made up 19.7% of Malaysia’s total trade grew by 24.6% y-o-y to RM38.45 billion, the 10th consecutive month of double-digit expansion. Exports to China recorded double-digit growth of 19% to RM18.52 billion, the highest monthly value thus far. This was due to higher exports of manufacturing metal, iron and steel products as well as LNG. Imports from China increased by 30.3% to RM19.93 billion. Compared to August 2021, trade, exports, and imports expanded by 19.5%, 22%, and 17.3%, respectively.

Trade with China during the first nine months of 2021 rose by 27.4% to RM304.1 billion compared to the same period of 2020. Exports was up by 19% to RM137 billion on account of higher exports of E&E products, manufactures of metal, LNG as well as chemicals and chemical products. Imports from China increased by 35.1% to RM167.09
billion.

Trade with US – comprised 9.6% of Malaysia’s total trade or RM18.76 billion, expanded by 19.2% y-o-y. Exports grew by 19.2% to RM12.31 billion on the back of higher exports of manufactures of metal and E&E products. Imports from the US rebounded by 19% to RM6.45 billion. On a month-on-month basis, trade, exports and imports rose by 12%, 13.6% and 9.1%, respectively.




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