by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by HUSSEIN SHAHARUDDIN

MALAYSIA’S trade growth momentum maintained in June with trade increasing by 29.3% to RM188.7 billion compared to June 2020.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said trade, exports and imports recorded the second highest monthly value thus far after April 2021. 

It noted that this was also the highest monthly value for the month of June and double-digit growth for five successive months.

“Exports recorded the 10th consecutive month of year-on-year (YoY) expansion since Sept 2020, registering a strong growth of 27.2% to RM105.47 billion. This was the third time exports exceeded RM100 billion. 

“Imports increased by 32.1% to RM83.23 billion and trade surplus expanded by 11.7% to RM22.24 billion,” MITI said in a statement today.

According to the ministry, the export growth was contributed by strong demand for petroleum products, electrical and electronic (E&E) products, mainly electronic integrated circuits used in the production of smartphones, cars, computers and home appliances as well as rubber products. 

Exports to all major markets namely Asean, China, the United States (US), the European Union (EU) and Japan recorded double-digit expansion.

Meanwhile, on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, trade, exports, imports and trade surplus increased by 10.4%, 14.3%, 5.9% and 61.7%, respectively.