MITI will be having its Deputy Minister Datuk Lim Ban Hong lead a Trade and Investment Mission to Mexico and Peru on the possibilities of opening new markets for Malaysia, especially in the field of E&E, EV, and automotive.
The Trade and Investment Mission would be focusing on broad linkage opportunities as well as exploring new markets for our exports as part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. Datuk Lim is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with his counterparts in Mexico and Peru to discuss ways to further increase bilateral trade and investment cooperation between Malaysia and the countries, focusing on Malaysia’s capabilities and capacities in strategic sectors.
Plans are afoot to discuss with key business councils and industry associations with the aim to secure mutually-beneficial trade and investment cooperation within the food and beverages, rubber products, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, furniture, and automotive industry. Mexico is Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America, which saw a two folds increase in bilateral trade within the past decade. In 2021, Malaysia recorded a substantial increase in total trade with Mexico to reach RM13.89 billion (USD3.35 billion) compared to 2020, contributed by higher exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products and manufactures of metal. Total exports in 2021 increased by 37.9% to RM11.59 billion (USD2.79 billion), while total imports increased by 35.9% to RM2.30 billion (USD0.56 billion) compared with the year earlier.
In 2021, Peru was Malaysia’s top six largest trading partners in Latin America. Despite the decline of global trade caused by the pandemic, Malaysia recorded a commendable increase of 13.5% in total trade with Peru compared to 2020, to
reach RM1.22 billion (USD0.29 billion). This was largely contributed by higher exports of rubber products, petroleum products and processed food. Malaysia’s exports to Peru increased by 21.8% to RM0.79 billion (USD0.19 billion), while the
imports from Peru maintain at RM0.43 billion (USD0.10 billion), compared to 2020.
