The increase was mainly attributable to the growth in the retail trade subsector which rises 34.5% to RM57b

THE sales value of wholesale and retail trade in Malaysia set a new record again in August 2022, rallying 33.7% year-on-year (YoY) to RM133.7 billion, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.

DoSM said the increase in wholesale and retail trade was attributed to the retail trade subsector, which rose RM14.6 billion, or 34.5%, to RM57 billion. 

“Within the same period, motor vehicles increased RM10.8 billion, or 185.3%, to RM16.6 billion, followed by wholesale trade which surged RM8.3 billion, or 16%, to RM60.1 billion.

“For month-on-month (MoM) comparison, sales value increased 2.6%, contributed by the motor vehicles subsector which rose 17.8%,” it said in a statement.

For the performance across subsectors, DoSM said the retail trade subsector growth of 34.5% in August 2022 was supported by retail sales in non-specialised stores which grew RM5.7 billion, or 37.1%, to RM21.1 billion.

“Likewise, other groups in this subsector also recorded positive growth, namely retail sales in specialised stores at RM3.7 billion, retail sales of automotive fuels (RM1.8 billion) and retail sales of household goods (RM1.5 billion).

“The motor vehicles subsector, which recorded a 185.3% increase, was lifted by sales of motor vehicles which expanded 206.3%, or RM6.4 billion to RM9.5 billion.

“This was followed by sales of motor vehicle parts and accessories; maintenance and repair of motor vehicles; and sales, maintenance and repair of motorcycles with RM2.2 billion, RM1.2 billion, and RM1.0 billion, respectively,” it said.

DoSM said the increase in the wholesale trade subsector which rose by 16% to record RM60.1 billion was mainly attributed to other specialised wholesale, which rose 16.8%, or RM3.4 billion, to RM23.6 billion. 

It said among the groups that contributed to this growth were the wholesale of household goods (RM2.7 billion); wholesale of food, beverage and tobacco (RM600 million); and wholesale of machinery, equipment and supplies (RM600 million).

“In terms of volume index, wholesale and retail trade registered a YoY growth of 27%.

“The expansion was contributed by motor vehicles and retail trade which increased 169.6% and 30.1%, respectively. 

“Similarly, wholesale trade also recorded positive growth with 7.4%. For seasonally adjusted volume index, it went up 3.1% MoM,” it added. — Bernama / pic TMR File