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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s exports in September expanded at a stronger pace of 13.6% to RM88.93bil, far topping a Bloomberg survey of a 1.7% increase, as manufactured goods shipments increased.
The Ministry of Industry and International Trade (MITI) said in a statement on Wednesday that September exports were the highest export value ever recorded for the month of September. On a monthly basis, exports were up 12.4% from $ 79.13 billion in August.
“Exports of manufactured products in September 2020, which accounted for 87.7% of total exports, increased 16.3% year-on-year to $ 77.99 billion.
“The expansion was mainly due to higher shipments of electrical and electronic products (E&E), rubber products, other manufactures, especially solid-state storage devices (SSD), iron and steel products, as well as optical and scientific equipment”, He said.
Agricultural product exports (7.4% share) increased 26.6% to RM 6.55 billion compared to September 2019, mainly driven by higher exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agricultural products .
Exports of mining goods (4.5% share) decreased 27.4% year-on-year to 4.02 billion ringgit due to lower exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MITI said E&E products boosted exports to Asean, as exports rebounded 6.7% to RM23.1 billion.
Regarding exports to China, they maintained double-digit growth for four consecutive months, increasing 41.9% to RM15.56 billion mainly due to higher exports of E&E products, iron and steel products, as well as palm oil and palm oil-based agricultural products.
Exports to the US continued to expand for four consecutive months, with double-digit growth from 22.1% to RM10.32bil in September 2020.
Malaysia’s total trade in September 2020 expanded 5.5% to RM155.88bil compared to a year ago.
The trade surplus in September 2020 increased by 149.3% year-on-year (year-on-year) to RM21.97 billion and was the highest trade surplus ever recorded in the month of September.
Compared to August 2020, total trade, exports, and imports grew 7.5%, 12.4%, and 1.6%, respectively. The trade surplus registered a significant expansion of 66.3%.
As for imports, they contracted 3.6% year-on-year to RM 66.96 billion from RM 69.44 billion a year ago.
The top three categories of imports by end-use that accounted for 70.4% of total imports were intermediate goods, valued at RM32.84 billion or 49% share of total imports, decreased by 17.8% .
The country registered lower imports of spare parts and accessories for capital goods (except transport equipment), particularly machinery, equipment and electrical spare parts.
MITI said that capital goods, valued at RM7.66 billion or 11.4% of total imports, decreased by 1.8%, mainly due to the reduction in imports of capital goods (except equipment of transportation), mainly parts of machinery and mechanical devices.
Consumer goods, valued at RM6.63 billion or 9.9% of total imports, increased 11.2%, as a result of higher imports of durable goods, especially parts of machinery and mechanical appliances.
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