Exports in May up 3.4% to RM82.1b year on year

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s exports grew 3.4% to RM82.1 billion in May, outpacing imports, which increased only 0.1% to RM74 billion, on a year-on-year basis said the Department of Statistics.
“Exports in May 2018 valued at RM82.1 billion, continued to surpass the RM80 billion mark, increasing by 3.4% from a year ago. Re-exports were valued at RM16.3 billion (+21.4%) and accounted for 19.8% of total exports. Domestic exports were lower by 0.3%, decreasing RM178.0 million to RM65.9 billion,” said chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement today.
“Imports, however, recorded a marginal increase of 0.1% year-on-year to RM74 billion resulting in a higher trade surplus of RM8.1 billion (+47.1%). This is the fifth consecutive month where export growth has outpaced import. Meanwhile, total trade increased RM2.8 billion (+1.8%) from a year ago,” he added.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG), which accounted for 3.8% of total exports, expanded by 61% to RM3.1 billion due to the 68.7% increase in export volume while crude petroleum, which contributed 3.8% to total exports, grew 45.8% to RM3.1 billion.
Refined petroleum products, which contributed 8.7% to total exports, rose 10% to RM7.1 billion while electrical and electronic products, which made up 35.5% of total exports, increased by 2.1% to RM29.2 billion.
Meanwhile, palm oil and palm oil-based products, which made up 7% of total exports, dropped 15.4% to RM5.8 billion.
“Exports of palm oil, the major commodity in this group of products declined RM1 billion or 24.2% due to the decrease in both export volume (14.5%) and average unit value (11.4%),” said Mohd Uzir.
Timber and timber-based products, which accounted for 2.1% of total exports, shrank 14.3% to RM1.7 billion while natural rubber that accounted for 0.4% of total exports decreased by 19.1% to RM334.9 million.
Total trade, valued at RM156.1 billion, rose 1.8% or RM2.8 billion from a year ago. On a month-on-month basis, total trade grew 0.4% or RM631.8 million from April.
The trade surplus stood at RM8.1 billion, reflecting an expansion of RM2.6 billion or 47.1% from a year ago. On a month-on-month basis, trade surplus was RM4.9 billion or 37.7% lower from April.
Imports rose marginally by 0.1% to RM74 billion in May on a year-on-year basis. All main categories of imports by end use and broad economic categories classifications recorded a decrease during the month.
Intermediate goods, which accounted for 54.1% of total imports, fell 5.3% to RM40.1 billion while consumption goods, which accounted for 8.1% of total imports, fell 10.2% to RM6 billion. Capital goods, which accounted for 13.3% of total imports, fell 0.7% to RM9.8 billion.
China was Malaysia’s biggest trade partner, making up 16.2% of the total trade of RM753.5 billion from January till May. This is followed by Singapore at 12.7% and the European Union (EU) at 10.3%.
On a year-on-year basis, export growth was contributed by expansion in exports to Hong Kong, the EU, Vietnam, China and Japan while higher imports were mainly from China, Taiwan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea.