Malaysia’s total trade for May 2023 amounted to RM223.8 billion with exports and imports recorded RM119.6 billion and RM104.2 billion, respectively.
Malaysia’s trade surplus rose 21.4 per cent year on year to RM15.4 billion in May 2023. Nine states that registered trade surplus were Pulau Pinang, Sarawak, Johor, Sabah, W.P. Labuan, Kelantan, Kedah, Pahang and Terengganu.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), exports was valued at RM119.6 billion in May 2023, decreased RM884.4 million (-0.7%) as compared to the same month of the previous year.
The decrease in exports was attributed to the lower exports in most states such as:
Pulau Pinang (-RM2.4 billion)
Sabah (-RM1.1 billion)
Sarawak (-RM942.2 million)
Pahang (-RM742.7 million)
W.P. Labuan (-RM594.2 million)
Terengganu (-RM394.3 million)
Perak (-RM156.3 million)
Johor (-RM71.0 million)
However, exports increased in:
Selangor (+RM2.0 billion)
W.P. Kuala Lumpur (+RM1.3 billion)
Kedah (+RM1.0 billion)
Negeri Sembilan (+RM423.4 million)
Melaka (+RM324.1 million)
Kelantan (+RM273.0 million)
Perlis (+RM3.5 million)
Pulau Pinang remained as the top exporter with 29.0 per cent share, followed by Johor (21.1%), Selangor (18.5%), Sarawak (8.1%) and W.P. Kuala Lumpur (5.8%).
Looking at the performance of imports by state, imports also decreased RM3.6 billion (-3.3%) in May 2023 as compared to the same month in 2022.
The decrease in imports was contributed by the lower imports in most states such as:
Pulau Pinang (-RM7.9 billion)
Kedah (-RM1.2 billion)
W.P. Kuala Lumpur (-RM1.2 billion)
Perak (-RM325.3 million)
W.P. Labuan (-RM190.1 million)
Pahang (-RM21.2 million)
On the other hand, nine states recorded an increase in imports were:
Selangor (+RM3.3 billion)
Johor (+RM1.4 billion)
Melaka (+RM1.2 billion)
Sarawak (+RM733.3 million)
Terengganu (+RM290.5 million)
Negeri Sembilan (+RM143.2 million)
Sabah (+RM119.7 million)
Perlis (+RM37.9 million)
Kelantan (+RM7.9 million)
Selangor continued to dominate Malaysia’s imports with a share of 28.1 per cent, followed by Johor (22.2%), Pulau Pinang (19.7%), W.P. Kuala Lumpur (6.7%) and Kedah (4.8%).
