Malaysia’s Wholesale & Retail Trade recorded the highest monthly sales value amounting to RM145.7 billion in March, with first quarter 2024 registered RM429.2 billion, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) in today’s release of Performance Of Wholesale & Retail Trade, March 2024.
Chief Statistician Malaysia Dato’ Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said: “The increase of 5.2 per cent year-on-year for Wholesale & Retail Trade in March 2024 was driven by Retail Trade sub-sector, which rose 7.1 per cent or RM4.2 billion to register RM62.8 billion. Wholesale Trade also expanded by registering 4.0 per cent or RM2.5 billion to RM64.1 billion, followed by Motor Vehicles with a growth of 3.2 per cent or RM0.6 billion to settle at RM18.8 billion.”
For monthly comparison, the increase of 3.3 per cent from the previous month was contributed by Wholesale Trade which went up 3.0 per cent. This was followed by Motor Vehicles and Retail Trade sub-sectors which grew 8.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.
Looking at the performance across sub-sectors, he said: “The growth of 7.1 per cent year-on-year in Retail Trade was contributed by Retail Sales in Non-specialised Stores which grew 8.4 per cent or RM1.9 billion to RM24.2 billion. Other groups in this sub-sector also recorded positive growth namely Retail Sales in Specialised Stores (10.9%), Retail Sales of Household Goods (4.8%), Retail Sales of Food, Beverages & Tobacco (8.6%), Retail Sales of Automotive Fuel (4.0%), Retail Sales of Cultural & Recreation Goods (6.3%), Retail Sales Not in Stores, Stalls or Markets (6.3%), and Retail Sales via Stalls & Markets (3.2%). For month-on-month comparison, sales of this sub-sector rose 2.1 per cent, supported by Retail Sales in Non-specialised Stores (2.6%), Retail Sales in Specialised Stores (1.8%), and Retail Sales of Household Goods (1.7%).”
On the Wholesale Trade sub-sector, he said the increase of 4.0 per cent year-on-year in this month was supported by Other Specialised Wholesale which rose RM1.0 billion or 4.5 per cent to RM24.1 billion. This was followed by Wholesale of Food, Beverages & Tobacco (5.4%), Wholesale of Household Goods (3.5%), Wholesale of Agricultural Raw Materials & Live Animals (3.2%), Wholesale of Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (1.4%), Non-specialised Wholesale Trade (2.5%), and Wholesale on a Fee or Contract Basis (2.0%).
For monthly comparison, Wholesale Trade rebounded 3.0 per cent, mainly contributed by Wholesale of Food, Beverages & Tobacco (4.4%), Wholesale of Household Goods (3.3%), and Other Specialised Wholesale (1.5%).
Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin added, “The year-on-year growth of 3.2 per cent for Motor Vehicles sub-sector in March was fuelled by Sales of Motor Vehicles Parts & Accessories which surged 13.8 per cent or RM0.6 billion to record RM5.0 billion, followed by Maintenance & Repair of Motor Vehicles which soared 14.4 per cent or RM0.3 billion to RM 2.6 billion. On the other hand, Sales of Motor Vehicles and Sales, Maintenance & Repair of Motorcycles recorded negative growth in this month with -2.8 per cent and -4.7 per cent, respectively.
For monthly comparison, this sub-sector elevated 8.3 per cent, attributed to Sales of Motor Vehicles (12.8%), Sales, Maintenance & Repair of Motorcycles (14.2%), Sales of Motor Vehicle Parts & Accessories (2.0%), and Maintenance & Repair of Motor Vehicles (2.3%).”
On quarterly performance, the 5.4 per cent increase in first quarter this year for Wholesale & Retail Trade was underpinned by Retail Trade sub-sector which rose RM9.1 billion or 5.1 per cent to RM185.5 billion. This was followed by Wholesale Trade which climbed 4.9 per cent or RM8.8 billion to record RM190.0 billion. Motor Vehicle sub-sector also grew with 7.8 per cent or RM3.9 billion to reach RM53.8 billion in this quarter.
As for quarter-on-quarter comparison, this sector edged up 0.1 per cent.
For index of retail sale over the internet, the index expanded 5.6 per cent year-onyear in March 2024 as compared to 0.4 per cent in February 2024.
For seasonally adjusted value, the index increased 5.0 per cent as against the previous month.
In terms of volume index, Wholesale & Retail Trade for March 2024 registered a year-on-year growth of 3.5 per cent. The expansion was attributed to all sub-sectors namely Retail Trade (5.4%), Wholesale Trade (2.2%), and Motor Vehicles (0.3%). For seasonally adjusted volume index, it edged down -0.8 per cent month-on-month.
