MALAYSIA’S trade surplus rose by 38% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM16.6 billion in January 2021, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief statistician Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said total trade widened by 4.1% y-o-y to RM162.6 billion.

He said Malaysia’s total exports saw five consecutive months of expansion, 6.6% y-o-y to RM89.6 billion in January 2021, while imports continued to record an increase of 1.3% to RM73 billion.

“This was the highest export value recorded for January so far, driven by both domestic exports and re-exports.

“Domestic exports grew by 6.3% at RM72.1 billion and it contributed 80.5% to the total exports,” he said in a statement today.

Re-exports grew 7.5% y-o-y to RM17.5 billion in January 2021, while imports increased 1.3% y-o-y to RM73 billion.

Mohd Uzir said Malaysia’s export expansion was supported mainly by higher exports to China (+RM2.7 billion), the United States (+RM1.6 billion), Vietnam (+RM1.2 billion), the European Union (+RM821.3 million), and Singapore (+RM621.0 million).

The main products, which contributed to the increase in exports, were electrical and electronic products (+RM4.2 billion); rubber products (+RM4.1 billion); manufacture of metal (+RM614.4 million), and chemical and chemical products (+RM448.9 million), he said.

Meanwhile, increases in imports were mainly from Taiwan (+RM1.0 billion), China (+RM793.9 million), Hong Kong (+RM686.1 million), and Indonesia (+RM662.1 million).

The expansion in imports were noted for electrical and electronic products (+RM3.4 billion) and rubber products (+RM623.9 million). – Bernama, February 26, 2021.