Malaysia’s Wholesale & Retail Trade recorded monthly sales value of RM138.5 billion, grew 11.9 per cent year-on-year in March 2023. For quarterly performance, sales of Wholesale & Retail Trade recorded RM407.4 billion in first quarter, grew 12.8 per cent.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) in today’s (May 10) release entitled Performance Of Wholesale & Retail Trade, March 2023. The report also presents statistics on sales value and volume index of Wholesale & Retail Trade by sub-sector.
In a statement, Dato’ Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Chief Statistician Malaysia said, “The increase of 11.9 per cent for Wholesale & Retail Trade in March 2023 was attributed to Retail Trade sub-sector, which increased 17.7 per cent or RM8.8 billion to register RM58.7 billion. Wholesale Trade also expanded by registering 7.6 per cent or RM4.4 billion to RM61.6 billion. Within the same period, Motor Vehicles rose 9.3 per cent or RM1.5 billion to RM18.2 billion.
For month-on-month comparison, sales value of Wholesale & Retail Trade grew 3.5 per cent, supported by Wholesale Trade with 4.1 per cent, Motor Vehicles 10.6 per cent, and Retail Trade 0.9 per cent.”
Looking at the performance across sub-sectors, the Chief Statistician added: “The Retail Trade sub-sector growth of 17.7 per cent in March 2023 was supported by Retail Sales in Non-specialised Stores which elevated 19.8 per cent or RM3.7 billion to RM22.4 billion.
“Other groups in this sub-sector also recorded positive growth namely Retail Sales in Specialised Stores 21.9 per cent, Retail Sales of Automotive Fuels 38.1 per cent, Retail Sales of Food, Beverages & Tobacco 17.9 per cent, Retail Sales of Household Goods 7.8 per cent, Retail Sales of Information & Communication Equipment 6.3 per cent, Retail Sales Not in Stores, Stalls or Market 18.9 per cent, and Retail Sales in Stalls & Market 18.8 per cent. For month-on-month comparison, sales of this sub-sector edged up 0.9 per cent.”
Commenting on Wholesale Trade sub-sector, the increase of 7.6 per cent was attributed to Wholesale of Household Goods which rose RM1.8 billion or 16.4 per cent to RM13.0 billion. This was followed by Wholesale of Food, Beverages & Tobacco 12.9 per cent, Wholesale of Agricultural Raw Materials & Live Animals 7.2 per cent, Wholesale of Machinery, Equipment & Supplies 7.7 per cent, Other Specialised Wholesale 0.8 per cent, Non-specialised Wholesale Trade 10.7 per cent, and Wholesale on a Fee & Contract Basis 5.5 per cent.
For monthly comparison, Wholesale Trade rebounded 4.1 per cent, mainly contributed by Other Specialised Wholesale which expanded 4.3 per cent to RM23.0 billion.
Mohd Uzir said “The 9.3 per cent growth in Motor Vehicles sub-sector this month was attributed to Sales of Motor Vehicles Parts & Accessories which surged 20.2 per cent or RM0.7 billion to RM4.4 billion. This was followed by Maintenance & Repair of Motor Vehicles 20.9 per cent, Sales of Motor Vehicles 3.8 per cent, and Sales, Maintenance & Repair of Motorcycles 3.2 per cent. For month-on-month comparison, sales of this sub-sector increased 10.6 per cent, contributed by Sales of Motor Vehicles with a growth of 16.3 per cent.”
Elaborating on quarterly performance, the 12.8 per cent increase in first quarter this year for Wholesale & Retail Trade was underpinned by Retail Trade sub-sector which expanded RM28.8 billion or 19.5 per cent to RM176.4 billion.
This was followed by Wholesale Trade which rose 5.5 per cent or RM9.4 billion to reach RM181.1 billion. Motor Vehicles sub-sector also grew 19.4 per cent or RM8.1 billion to record RM49.9 billion in this quarter. As for quarter-on-quarter comparison, this sector increased 0.6 per cent.
Mohd Uzir added: “Index of retail sale over the internet for March 2023 recorded 11.7 per cent growth year-on-year (February 2023: 9.4 per cent). For seasonally adjusted value, the index contracted -0.1 per cent as against the previous month.”
In terms of volume index, Wholesale & Retail Trade for March 2023 registered a year-on-year growth of 9.4 per cent. The Chief Statistician added that the expansion was attributed to Retail Trade with a double-digit growth of 13.8 per cent. Wholesale Trade and Motor Vehicles also recorded positive growth of 6.7 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively. For seasonally adjusted volume index, it went down -0.9 per cent month-on-month.
