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Exports in February registered a double digit growth of 14.5% to RM47.05 billion, from RM41.1 billion in February 2007. The increase was mainly attributed to higher exports of palm oil, crude petroleum, refined petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Imports recorded a 10.9% growth from a year ago, reaching a value of RM37.89 billion
A trade surplus of RM9.16 billion was recorded in February 2008, making it the 124th consecutive month of monthly trade surplus since November 1997. Total trade in February 2008 was valued at RM84.94 billion, an increase of 12.8% from a year ago.
During the period of January to February 2008, Malaysia's total trade reached RM181.29 billion, an increase of 10.7%, from the same period of 2007. Exports rose by 12.3% to RM100.09 billion, while imports expanded by 8.8% to RM81.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM18.89 billion.
EXPORTS IN FEBRUARY 2008
Major products exported in February 2008 were:
| Electrical and electronic products valued at RM17.56 billion or 37.3% of total exports; |
| Palm oil (RM3.77 billion or 8% of total exports); |
| Crude petroleum (RM3.55 billion or 7.6% of total exports); |
| Chemicals and chemical products (RM2.85 billion or 6.1% of total exports); |
| Liquefied natural gas (RM2.69 billion or 5.7% of total exports); |
| Refined petroleum products (RM2.28 billion or 4.9% of total exports); |
| Machinery, appliances and parts (RM1.72 billion or 3.7% of total exports); |
| Manufactures of metal (RM1.38 billion or 2.9% of total exports); |
| Wood products (RM1.11 billion or 2.4% of total exports); and |
| Optical and scientific equipment (RM972.4 million or 2.1% of total exports). |
ASEAN, the European Union (EU), the United States of America (USA), Japan, the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) were the top export markets, accounting for 76.5% of Malaysia's total exports in February 2008.
ASEAN accounted for RM12.46 billion or 26.5% of Malaysia's total exports in February 2008, an increase of 15.2% from February 2007, contributed mainly by higher exports of crude petroleum, refined petroleum products as well as electrical and electronic (E&E) products.
Exports to ASEAN:
| Singapore |
RM 6.94 billion |
| Thailand |
RM 2.49 billion |
| Indonesia |
RM 1.60 billion |
| Philippines |
RM 738.5 million |
| Viet Nam |
RM 491.6 million |
| Brunei Darussalam |
RM 93.4 million |
| Myanmar |
RM 77.5 million |
| Cambodia |
RM 30.9 million |
| Lao PDR |
RM 1.8 million |
Exports to the EU increased by 16.8% from a year ago to RM6.33 billion, accounting for 13.5% of Malaysia's total exports in February 2008. This is the first time that the share of exports to the EU has surpassed the share of exports to the USA of 12.8%. The increase was attributed mainly to higher exports of palm oil, refined petroleum products as well as chemicals and chemical products.
Exports to major EU countries:
| Netherlands |
RM 2.07 billion |
| Germany |
RM 1.15 billion |
| United Kingdom |
RM 1.05 billion |
| France |
RM 470.8 million |
| Italy |
RM 256.6 million |
| Spain |
RM 234.7 million |
| Belgium |
RM 162.7 million |
| Ireland |
RM 136.8 million |
| Hungary |
RM 121.0 million |
| Sweden |
RM 113.8 million |
Exports to the USA amounted to RM6.04 billion compared with RM7.49 billion in February 2007. The decline was due mainly to lower exports of E&E products. However, increases in exports were recorded for palm oil and rubber products.
In February 2008, exports to Japan surged 28.7% from a year ago to RM4.98 billion. The increase was attributed mainly to higher exports of LNG, E&E products, optical and scientific equipment, refined petroleum products and palm oil.
Exports to the PRC expanded 27.2% to RM3.84 billion in February 2008. The increase was contributed mainly by higher exports of crude petroleum, palm oil and crude rubber.
Exports to the ROK rose 14% to RM2.28 billion in February 2008 contributed mainly by significant increases in exports of refined petroleum products.
In February 2008, exports to India surged 39.2% to RM1.67 billion, due mainly to higher exports of crude petroleum, palm oil, manufactures of metal and refined petroleum products.
IMPORTS IN FEBRUARY 2008
Total imports in February 2008 increased by 10.9% to RM37.89 billion from a year ago. The increase was contributed mainly by higher imports of intermediate and capital goods.
The three main categories of imports by end use:
| Intermediate goods valued at RM27.9 billion or 73.6% of total imports; |
| Capital goods (RM4.75 billion or 12.5% of total imports); and |
| Consumption goods (RM2.19 billion or 5.8% of total imports). |
Major import products:
| Electrical and electronic products valued at RM14.93 billion or 39.4% of total imports; |
| Machinery, appliances and parts (RM3.28 billion or 8.6% of total imports); |
| Chemicals and chemical products (RM3.21 billion or 8.5% of total imports); |
| Manufactures of metal (RM1.97 billion or 5.2% of total imports); |
| Iron and steel products (RM1.87 billion or 4.9% of total imports); |
| Refined petroleum products (RM1.76 billion or 4.7% of total imports); |
| Crude petroleum (RM1.34 billion or 3.5% of total imports); |
| Transport equipment (RM1.29 billion or 3.4% of total imports); and |
| Optical and scientific equipment (RM983.5 million or 2.6% of total imports). |
Major import sources:
|
Import value
(RM billion)
|
Share of total
(RM billion) imports
(%)
|
| ASEAN |
9.39 |
24.8 |
| JAPAN |
4.86 |
12.8 |
| PRC |
4.79 |
12.6 |
| EU |
4.46 |
11.8 |
| USA |
4.03 |
10.6 |
| Taiwan |
1.99 |
5.3 |
| ROK |
1.90 |
5.0 |
| West Asia |
1.36 |
3.6 |
EXPORTS DURING THE PERIOD JANUARY- FEBRUARY 2008
During the period January to February 2008, total exports rose 12.3% to RM100.09 billion. Significant increases were recorded in exports to Pakistan, with a growth rate of 71.6%; Australia, 33.9%; West Asia, 29.1%; India, 24.1%; Japan, 23.5%; ASEAN, 17.6%; the PRC, 15.5%; and the EU, 9.3%.
Major export destinations:
|
Export value |
|
(RM billion) |
| ASEAN |
27.29 |
| USA |
13.21 |
| EU |
12.46 |
| Japan |
10.15 |
| PRC |
8.32 |
| ROK |
4.61 |
| Hong Kong SAR |
3.75 |
| West Asia |
3.68 |
| Australia |
3.56 |
| India |
3.31 |
| Taiwan |
2.37 |
Major export products:
| Electrical and electronic products valued at RM38.55 billion or 38.5% of total exports, a decrease of 5.2% from the corresponding period of 2007; |
| Palm oil (RM7.65 billion or 7.6% of total exports), an increase of 90.2%; |
| Crude petroleum (RM7.14 billion or 7.1% of total exports), an increase of 39.7%; |
| Chemicals and chemical products (RM5.6 billion or 5.6% of total exports), an increase of 7.8%; |
| Liquefied natural gas (RM5.33 billion or 5.3% of total exports), an increase of 20.3%; |
| Refined petroleum products (RM5 billion or 5% of total exports), an increase of 112.4%; |
| Machinery, appliances and parts (RM3.69 billion or 3.7% of total exports), an increase of 7.4%; |
| Manufactures of metal (RM2.84 billion or 2.8% of total exports), an increase of 26%; |
| Wood products (RM2.5 billion or 2.5% of total exports), a decrease of 4.9%; |
| Optical and scientific equipment (RM2.01 billion or 2% of total exports), an increase of 8.1%; and |
| Rubber products (RM1.94 billion or 1.9% of total exports), an increase of 30.3%. |
IMPORTS DURING THE PERIOD JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2008
Total imports during the period January to February 2008 increased by 8.8% to RM81.2 billion, attributed mainly to higher imports of intermediate and consumption goods.
The three main categories of imports by end use:
| Intermediate goods valued at RM58.97 billion or 72.6% of total imports, an increase of 12.6% from the corresponding period of 2007; |
| Capital goods (RM10.35 billion or 12.8% of total imports), an increase of 3.7%; and |
| Consumption goods (RM4.95 billion or 6.1% of total imports), an increase of 10.2%. |
Major import products:
| Electrical and electronic products valued at RM31.72 billion or 39.1% of total imports, an increase of 0.2% from the corresponding period of 2007; |
| Chemicals and chemical products (RM6.83 billion or 8.4% of total imports), an increase of 11.8%; |
| Machinery, appliances and parts (RM6.82 billion or 8.4% of total imports), an increase of 19.6%; |
| Manufactures of metal (RM4.18 billion or 5.2% of total imports), an increase of 2.2%; and |
| Refined petroleum products (RM3.97 billion or 4.9% of total imports), an increase of 38.2%. |
Major import sources:
|
Import value |
|
(RM billion) |
| ASEAN |
20.73 |
| PRC |
10.58 |
| Japan |
9.63 |
| EU |
9.48 |
| USA |
8.76 |
| Taiwan |
4.32 |
| ROK |
3.93 |
| West Asia |
3.00 |
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Note*
1 It should be noted that, conceptually, the export and import figures in the external trade statistics are different from that in the goods account of the balance of payments compilation. The compilation of international merchandise trade statistics is usually based on customs records, which essentially reflect the physical movement of goods across borders, and follow international guidelines on concepts and definitions, which do not fully conform to the principles of the System of National Accounts (SNA) and the Balance of Payments Compilation. Goods are defined in the SNA as “physical objects for which a demand exists, over which ownership rights can be established and whose ownership can be transferred from one institutional unit to another by engaging in transactions on markets”. * This is a preliminary release, full details would be published in the “MONTHLY EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS” report by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia, to be disseminated at 1201 hours, Wednesday 9 April 2008.
+ This report can be accessed through the homepages of the Department of Statistics, Malaysia (http://www.statistics.gov.my) under Latest Releases: Malaysian External Trade Statistics, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (http://www.miti.gov.my) and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (http://www.matrade.gov.my).
# The February 2008 data are not fully validated. The validated data would be updated in the cumulative columns of the March 2008 publication .
Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia (http://www.statistics.gov.my/)
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