Malaysia's Total Trade In January Expands 9.2 Per Cent To RM110.72 Billion

Picture for Illustration Purpose. Taken from cfi.co

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's total trade in January rose 9.2 per cent to RM110.72 billion from the RM101.39 billion registered in the same month of last year, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said.

MITI in a statement Monday also said the increase in trade was contributed mainly by higher dealings with ASEAN, which increased by RM7.02 billion and China at RM2.34 billion.

It said that exports were valued at RM56.99 billion, increasing 3.5 per cent compared with a year ago, while imports rose 16 per cent to RM53.72 billion.

"Exports of manufactured goods increased by 6.7 per cent compared with January 2012, mainly due to higher exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products, mainly electronic integrated circuits, chemicals and chemical products primarily pure xylene, parts and accessories of motor vehicles as well as optical and scientific equipment," it added.

It said exports of manufactured goods contributed 65 per cent of the country's total exports in January.

The ministry said exports to Asean increased by 29.3 per cent to RM18.07 billion, accounting for 31.7 per cent of Malaysia's total exports.

China was the largest single export market in January at RM6.5 billion, an increase of 8.6 per cent compared with a year ago, driven by higher exports of crude petroleum, E&E products (electronic integrated circuits), chemicals and chemical products (pure xylene) as well as crude rubber.

Exports to the United States grew 8.6 per cent to RM4.99 billion, contributed mainly by E&E products, particularly electronic integrated circuits as well as optical and scientific equipment (parts and accessories for oscilloscope and spectrum analyser).

Exports to Japan in January fell 14.1 per cent to RM6.7 billion, owing to lower exports of liquefied natural gas.

In the case of the European Union, exports also decreased by 5.7 per cent to RM4.72 billion, resulting from lower exports of palm oil, chemicals and chemical products, as well as crude rubber.

Meanwhile, total imports in January increased by 16 per cent to RM53.72 billion from the same month last year.

MITI said intermediate goods increased by 6.3 per cent to RM31.43 billion, contributing 58.5 per cent of total imports, capital goods was up 7.2 per cent to RM7.84 billion (14.6 per cent of total imports) and consumption goods grew 7.3 per cent to RM3.91 billion (7.3 per cent of total imports).

Major import products were E&E products, RM14.65 billion or 27.3 per cent of total imports, refined petroleum products at RM8.07 billion or 15 per cent of total imports, and machinery, appliances and parts, RM4.42 billion or 8.2 per cent of total imports.