PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s exports and imports expanded 11.8% and 11.3% respectively in February 2020, resulting in a trade surplus of RM12.6 billion.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said exports expanded 11.8% to RM74.5 billion year-on-year (yoy), attributed to an expansion in exports to Singapore (+RM2.1 billion), the US (+RM1.6 billion), Korea (+RM1.2 billion), China (+RM935.4 million) and Taiwan (+RM430.4 million).
Re-exports was 6.3% lower at RM9.8 billion and accounted for 13.1% of total exports. However, domestic exports recorded an increase of 15.2% or RM8.5 billion to RM64.7 billion.
The main products which contributed to the increase in exports were refined petroleum products (+RM788.1 million), palm oil and palm oil-based products (+RM692.7 million), timber and timber-based products (+RM575.9 million), liquefied natural gas (+RM222.2 million) and natural rubber (+RM77.5 million).
However, lower exports were recorded for electrical and electronic products and crude petroleum.
Trade rose 11.6% in February to RM136.3 billion compared to the same month of the previous year.
“Meanwhile, imports rose 11.3% to RM61.8 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM12.6 billion, 14.1% higher as compared to February 2019,” he said in a statement.
The higher imports were mainly from the US (+RM989.7 million), India (+RM859.2 million), Taiwan (+RM705.3 million), Korea (+RM662.1 million) and China (+RM591.9 million).
Meanwhile, the growth in imports by end use was mainly attributed to intermediate goods (+RM6.5 billion) and consumption goods (+RM462.3 million). Nevertheless, imports for capital goods decreased RM1.1 billion.
