Trade Performance 2017
Trade Performance : December 2017 and January - December 2017
TRADE PERFORMANCE 2017
2017 Trade – The Strongest Growth in 13 years
Malaysia’s trade registered stellar performance in 2017, growing at the highest rate in 13 years. Trade surged by 19.4% to RM1.774 trillion, compared to RM1.486 trillion recorded the previous year.
This remarkable performance was contributed by higher trade with ASEAN, which expanded by 21% or RM84.49 billion, China (↑20.6% or RM49.68 billion), the European Union (EU) (↑17.5% or RM26.05 billion), the United States of America (USA) (↑16.3% or RM22.12 billion), Japan (↑14.7% or RM17.77 billion), Taiwan (↑24.3% or RM15.33 billion), India (↑26.2% or RM12.74 billion), Hong Kong SAR (↑22.7% or RM11.41 billion) and Australia (↑23.7% or RM10.06 billion).
Significant increases in trade were also recorded with the Republic of Korea (ROK), Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), New Zealand, Iran, South Africa, Mexico, Bangladesh, Iraq and Brazil.
Exports grew significantly by 18.9%, the strongest growth since 2005 to reach a new high of RM935.39 billion. Imports also recorded the highest value of RM838.14 billion, expanding by 19.9%. Trade surplus widened by 10.3% to RM97.25 billion, the largest surplus registered since 2012. This was the 20th consecutive year of trade surplus since 1998.
Major highlights on exports in 2017:
• Double digit y-o-y growth recorded for every single month of the year, except for June and December;
• All sectors recorded strong expansion with double digit growth;
• Double digit y-o-y growth for electrical and electronics (E&E) exports except for December, driven by strong global demand for smart electronics;
• Sharp rebound in export growth of major commodities as world prices improved;
• Exports to almost all major markets recorded a new high;
• Higher exports to ASEAN with growth recorded to all markets except for Lao PDR;
• Increased exports to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners; particularly to ASEAN, China, Japan, the ROK, Australia, Turkey, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Chile;
• Robust export growth to advanced countries, in particular, the USA and the EU notably the Netherlands and Germany; and
• Greater demand from emerging markets such as Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.
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Trade Performance : December 2017 and January - December 2017
Trade Performance : November 2017 and January - November 2017
Exports Hit All-time Monthly Record High in November 2017
Malaysia’s total trade in November 2017 surged by 14.8% to RM157.05 billion compared with the year before. The growth was mainly buoyed by trade with ASEAN, the European Union (EU), China, Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States of America (USA) and Taiwan.
Exports in November 2017 expanded by 14.4% to RM83.5 billion, the highest monthly export value ever recorded after the RM82.62 billion registered in March 2017. Imports rose by 15.2% to RM73.55 billion. Trade surplus amounted to RM9.95 billion, the 241st consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997.
On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, total trade, exports and imports expanded by 1.9%, 1.5% and 2.4%, respectively.
Total trade for the first eleven months of 2017 amounted to RM1.622 trillion, grew by 20.8% compared with the same period of 2016. Exports totalled RM856.05 billion, surged by 20.4% while imports stood at RM766.07 billion, rose by 21.2%. Trade surplus of RM89.98 billion was recorded, higher by 13.6% compared to the corresponding period of 2016. The total value of trade, exports, imports and trade balance for the first 11 months of 2017 had surpassed that of the whole of 2016, respectively.
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Trade Performance : November 2017 and January - November 2017
Trade Performance : September 2017 and January - September 2017
11 Straight Months of Strong Growth for Exports, Imports and Trade
Exports remained strong in September 2017, registering a double-digit growth of 14.8% to RM78.26 billion compared to September 2016. In the first nine months of 2017, exports surged by 21.3% to RM690.25 billion. Based on the performance so far, the full year estimate of 16.6% export growth as stated in the Economic Report 2017/2018 is well within reach. This would support the projected economic growth of between 5.2% and 5.7% for 2017.
With the emphasis on export promotion in the 2018 budget, exports is expected to be sustained in 2018.
September export achievements were supported by robust demand from major markets mainly from ASEAN, China, Hong Kong SAR, the European Union (EU), the United States of America (USA), Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, Australia, Mexico and Turkey.
In September 2017, imports grew by 15.2% to RM69.65 billion compared with September 2016. In the first nine months of 2017, imports amounted to RM620.66 billion, rose by 22%.
Total trade expanded by 15% to RM147.91 billion in September 2017. Malaysia’s trade in the first nine months of 2017 increased by 21.7% to RM1.311 trillion compared with the same period of 2016.
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Trade Performance : September 2017 and January - September 2017
Trade Performance : October 2017 and January - October 2017
October 2017 – the Highest Trade Surplus Since April 2016
Malaysia’s total trade in October 2017 surged by 19.8% to RM154.26 billion compared with the year before. The main contributors to the growth were trade with ASEAN, China, the United States of America (USA), Hong Kong SAR, Japan, the European Union (EU) and Taiwan.
Exports in October 2017 rose significantly by 18.9% to RM82.41 billion, exceeding RM80 billion mark for the third time in 2017. Imports rose by 20.9% to RM71.85 billion. Trade surplus widened to RM10.56 billion, the highest value since April 2016, making it the 240th consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997.
On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, total trade, exports and imports expanded by 4.3%, 5.3% and 3.2%, respectively.
Total trade for the first ten months of 2017 amounted to RM1.465 trillion, grew by 21.5% compared with the same period of 2016. Exports totalled RM772.66 billion, an increase of 21.1% while imports stood at RM692.51 billion, rose by 21.9%. Trade surplus of RM80.15 billion was recorded, higher by 14.4% compared to the corresponding period of 2016.
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Trade Performance : August 2017 and January - August 2017
MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY
MALAYSIA
MALAYSIA EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS
MEDIA STATEMENT
Trade Remains Robust in 2017
The first eight months of 2017 have seen unprecedented growth in Malaysia’s trade. Growth has exceeded 20% every single month of the year, except for January and June. Last year total trade breached the RM1 trillion mark in September but this year total trade reached RM1 trillion earlier, in July. In 2016, total trade increased by 1.5%. We had earlier estimated total trade in 2017 to grow by about 3%. Although we expect some slight deceleration at the end of this year, partly because of the base effect, Malaysia is likely to record a total trade growth exceeding 10%, given the strong performance in the first eight months.
The trade surplus has also been healthy, increasing to RM60.84 billion for the first eight months of 2017. In the same period last year, it stood at RM52.47 billion. This year we are likely to see a slight increase in the trade surplus compared to RM88.15 billion in the whole of last year.
A very important feature of this year trade is that there has been strong growth in most sectors and key markets. Increases in exports have been across the board.
Manufactured goods have performed well, particular electrical and electronics products. E&E exports amounted to RM220.56 billion (January to August 2017), growing 21.4% compared to the same period in 2016. We expect the E&E sector to continue to grow given the improvement in global semiconductor sales and strong projections from the smart devices, automotive, storage and healthcare markets. Another area showing strong performance is mining goods, driven by crude petroleum and LNG, which collectively surged by 34% to RM45.16 billion during the same period. This is due mostly to higher and more stable global energy prices.
Trade with China strengthened to 26% in the first eight months of 2017 to RM188.26 billion compared to the previous period. This was driven by exports which surged 36.5% to RM80.47 billion. Trade with our key markets, ASEAN, EU, United States and Japan remained strong with growth of 23.9%, 18.3%, 19.7% and 17.7% respectively in the first eight months.
Malaysia’s trade remains resilient driven by diversification in exports. E&E accounted for 36% of exports in January-August 2017, while Petroleum, LNG and Chemical products account for 22.7% of exports. Agriculture including palm oil & palm oil based products is also an important component of Malaysian exports, amounting to 8.5% of total exports.
The World Trade Organization recently raised their 2017 growth forecast in world merchandise trade volume to 3.6% from a previous estimate of 2.4%. This is attributed to a resurgence of Asian trade flows as intra-regional shipments picked up and as demand in North America recovered after stalling in 2016. We foresee that Malaysia will benefit from the increase in global trade with our trade remaining robust for the rest of 2017.
Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed
Minister of International Trade and Industry
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