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Malaysia’s total trade in April 2007 amounted to RM86.24 billion, an increase of 1.7% from April 2006.
Total exports were valued at RM46.12 billion and imports were RM40.11 billion, registering an increase of 0.9% and 2.6%, respectively, from a year ago. Compared with March 2007, exports and imports in April declined by 5.8% and 5.5%, respectively. The decline in April export was consistent with the past trends. This was mainly attributed to lower exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products and to a lesser extent, chemicals and chemical products and machinery, appliances and parts.
A trade surplus of RM6 billion was recorded in April 2007, making it the 114th consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997.
During the period January to April 2007, total trade amounted to RM341.43 billion, an increase of 2.7% from the corresponding period of 2006. Exports increased by 1% to RM184.25 billion, while imports grew by 4.8% to RM157.18 billion, from the same period of 2006.
Export destinations
ASEAN, the United States of America (USA), the European Union (EU), Japan, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Hong Kong SAR, together accounted for 78.6% of Malaysia’s total exports in January 2007.
ASEAN absorbed RM11.59 billion or 25.1% of Malaysia’s total exports, compared with RM12.61 billion in March 2007 due to lower exports of crude petroleum, chemicals and chemical products and E&E products.
Exports to ASEAN:
Singapore |
RM 6.74 billion |
Thailand |
RM 2.42 billion |
Indonesia |
RM 1.18 billion |
Philippines |
RM 564.3 million |
Viet Nam |
RM 452.2 million |
Brunei Darussalam |
RM 120.4 million |
Myanmar |
RM 71.5 million |
Cambodia |
RM 39.8 million |
Lao PDR |
RM 0.9 million |
Exports to the USA amounted to RM7.48 billion, from RM8.1 billion in March 2007, due mainly to lower exports of E&E products. Exports to the USA contributed 16.2% of Malaysia’s total exports.
Exports to the EU totalled RM6.08 billion, or 13.2% of Malaysia’s total exports, compared with RM6.3 billion in March 2007. The decline was mainly attributed to lower exports of E&E products. However, exports to this region registered an increase of 6.3% from a year ago.
Exports to major EU countries:
Netherlands |
RM 1.71 billion |
Germany |
RM 1.17 billion |
United Kingdom |
RM 754.3 million |
France |
RM 551.9 million |
Italy |
RM 294.5 million |
Spain |
RM 240.6 million |
Belgium |
RM 189.7 million |
Finland |
RM 176.9 million |
Romania |
RM 148.4million |
Ireland |
RM 142.9 million |
Exports to Japan were RM4 billion, compared with RM4.2 billion in March 2007. However, year-on-year, exports increased by 11.8% contributed mainly by higher exports of refined petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Exports to the PRC amounted to RM3.57 billion, compared with RM3.99 billion in March 2007. Year-on-year, exports registered an increase of 13.2% mainly due to chemicals and chemical products, palm oil and E&E products.
Exports to the ROK were RM2.11 billion, from RM2.14 billion in March 2007. Compared with April 2006, exports surged 35.1%, attributed mainly to crude petroleum and LNG.
Exports to Hong Kong SAR valued at RM2.05 billion, from RM2.34 billion in March 2007, was mainly due to lower exports of E&E products.
Exports to West Asia amounted to RM1.78 billion, from RM1.85 billion in March 2007. Compared with April 2006, exports expanded 34.3%, contributed mainly by higher exports of iron and steel products as well as jewellery.
Export Products
Major exports in April 2007:
Electrical and electronic products valued at RM19.55 billion or 42.4% of total exports; |
Palm oil (RM2.67 billion or 5.8% of total exports); |
Chemicals and chemical products (RM2.54 billion or 5.5% of total exports); |
Crude petroleum (RM2.19 billion or 4.8% of total exports); |
Refined petroleum products (RM2.17 billion or 4.7% of total exports); |
Liquefied natural gas (RM1.97 billion or 4.3% of total exports); |
Machinery, appliances and parts (RM1.93 billion or 4.2% of total exports); |
Wood products (RM1.48 billion or 3.2% of total exports); |
Manufactures of metal (RM1.29 billion or 2.8% of total exports); and |
Iron and steel products (RM1.06 billion or 2.3% of total exports). |
IMPORTS IN APRIL 2007
The three main categories of imports by end-use:
Intermediate goods valued at RM28.4 billion or 67.4% of total imports; |
Capital goods (RM5.67 billion or 13.4% of total imports); and |
Consumption goods (RM2.45 billion or 6.1% of total imports). |
Major import products:
Electrical and electronic products valued at RM16.03 billion or 40% of total imports; |
Machinery, appliances and parts (RM3.56 billion or 8.9% of total imports); |
Chemicals and chemical products (RM2.97 billion or 7.4% of total imports); |
Iron and steel products (RM2.47 billion or 6.2% of total imports); |
Manufactures of metal (RM2.07 billion or 5.1% of total imports); |
Transport equipment (RM1.71 billion or 4.3% of total imports); |
Refined petroleum products (RM1.59 billion or 4% of total imports); |
Crude petroleum (RM1.29 billion or 3.2% of total imports); and |
Optical and scientific equipment (RM1.19 billion or 3% of total imports). |
Major sources of imports:
|
Import value |
Share to total imports |
ASEAN |
RM 9.61 billion |
23.9% |
Japan |
RM 5.75 billion |
14.3% |
EU |
RM 5.13 billion |
12.8% |
PRC |
RM4.72 billion |
11.8% |
USA |
RM 4.53 billion |
11.3% |
Taiwan |
RM 2.16 billion |
5.4% |
ROK |
RM 1.67 billion |
4.2% |
Hong Kong SAR |
RM 1.33 billion |
3.3% |
West Asia |
RM 1.27 billion |
3.2% |
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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, Friday 8 June 2007.
# The April 2007 data are not fully validated. The validated data would be updated in the cumulative columns of the May 2007 publication. |
