Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation

Trade, Exports and Imports Rebounded in January  

Malaysia’s trade in January 2024 rebounded with a double-digit expansion by 13.3% to RM234.73 billion after registering 10^th consecutive month of year-on-year (y-o-y) contraction. Exports edged up by 8.7% to RM122.43 billion and imports increased by 18.8% to RM112.3 billion. This was also the highest monthly value recorded for the month of January. Meanwhile, trade surplus amounted to RM10.12 billion and marked the 45^th consecutive month of trade surplus since May 2020. 

The export growth was boosted by higher shipments of petroleum products, machinery, equipment and parts, iron and steel products as well as manufactures of metal. Exports to major trading partners namely ASEAN, the United States (US), the European Union (EU) and Japan recorded expansion. 

Compared to December 2023, trade, exports and imports increased by 4.3%, 3.4%, and 5.3%, respectively while trade surplus contracted by 13.8%.

Export Performance of Major Sectors

Exports of Manufactured Goods Remained Robust

In January 2024, exports of manufactured goods which accounted for 84.7% of total exports improved by 9.3% y-o-y to RM103.65 billion. Almost all manufactured goods recorded double-digit export expansion except for electrical and electronic (E&E) products which dropped by 6.5% mainly to China and Singapore. Higher exports were seen for petroleum products, machinery, equipment and parts, iron and steel products as well as manufactures of metal.

Exports of mining goods (7.9% share) declined by 4.9% y-o-y to RM9.72 billion following reduced exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

Exports of agriculture goods (6.7% share) rebounded with a double-digit expansion of 17.5% to RM8.24 billion after recording negative y-o-y growth since November 2023. This was backed mainly by robust exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products. All agriculture goods recorded double-digit export growth.

Major exports in January 2024:   

• E&E products, valued at RM44.02 billion and accounted for 36% of total exports, decreased by 6.5% compared to January 2023;
• Petroleum products, RM14.81 billion, 12.1% of total exports, increased by 24.2%;
• Palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, RM6.15 billion, 5% of total exports, increased by 16.3%;
• LNG, RM6.05 billion, 4.9% of total exports, decreased by 9.3%; and
• Chemicals and chemical products, RM6.03 billion, 4.9% of total exports, increased by 4.4%.

On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, exports of manufactured and agriculture goods rose by 4.8% and 0.9%, respectively while exports of mining goods shrank by 6.1%.

Trade Performance with Major Markets   

ASEAN – Trade Registered Double-Digit Growth

In January 2024, trade with ASEAN accounted for 27.6% of Malaysia’s total trade, registering a double-digit growth of 17.4% y-o-y to RM64.87 billion. Exports was up by 9.5% to RM37.33 billion, bolstered by higher exports of petroleum products, machinery, equipment and parts as well as chemicals and chemical products. Imports from ASEAN rose by 30.2% to RM27.54 billion. 

Breakdown of exports to ASEAN countries: 

Exports to major markets in ASEAN that recorded increases were Viet Nam which grew by RM2.1 billion due to higher exports of E&E products, Indonesia (↑RM2.1 billion) and the Philippines (↑RM446.5 million), buoyed by strong exports of petroleum products, respectively.

Compared to December 2023, trade, exports and imports rose by 14%, 12.9% and 15.7%, respectively.

China – Trade Recorded Expansion

In January 2024, trade with China which took up 16.9% of Malaysia’s total trade edged up by 6.9% y-o-y to RM39.57 billion. Exports to China was valued at RM13.87 billion, fell by 7.4% as a result of lower exports of E&E products. However, the contraction was cushioned by strong exports of petroleum products, manufactures of metal as well as paper and pulp products. Imports from China grew by 16.7% to RM25.7 billion.

Compared to December 2023, imports climbed by 11% while trade and exports weakened by 3% and 21.5%, respectively.

The US – Trade, Exports and Imports Recorded Double-Digit Growth 

Trade with the US which represented 9.4% of Malaysia’s total trade in January 2024 recorded a double-digit growth of 18.2% y-o-y to RM22.11 billion. Exports improved by 11.9% to RM13.48 billion aided by robust exports of E&E products, iron and steel products as well as wood products. Imports from the US edged up by 29.5% to RM8.63 billion.

On a m-o-m basis, imports expanded by 0.9%, while trade and exports declined by

4.7% and 7.9%, respectively.

The EU – Trade, Exports and Imports Rebounded  

In January 2024, trade with the EU which made up 7.6% of Malaysia’s total trade recovered by 5.4% y-o-y to RM17.87 billion. Exports improved by 6.4% to RM9.95 billion led by robust exports of E&E products, palm oil-based manufactured products as well as manufactures of metal. Imports from the EU expanded by 4.1% to RM7.92 billion. 

Within the EU, the top 10 markets which accounted for 93.2% of Malaysia’s total exports to the region were: 

Exports to the EU major markets that recorded growth were Germany and France which increased by RM627 million and RM13.2 million respectively, backed by strong exports of E&E products. Meanwhile, exports to Italy was up by RM312.6 million, owing to robust exports of manufactures of metal.

Compared to December 2023, trade, exports and imports increased by 7%, 10.1% and

3.2%, respectively. 

Japan – Exports Recorded Expansion

In January 2024, trade with Japan which comprised 5.9% of Malaysia’s total trade declined by 1% y-o-y to RM13.95 billion. Exports increased by 2.8% to RM8.41 billion, contributed by higher exports of crude petroleum, optical and scientific equipment as well as petroleum products. Imports from Japan slipped by 6.3% to RM5.53 billion.

On a m-o-m basis, trade and exports increased by 4.6% and 11.5%, respectively while imports contracted by 4.4%.

Trade with FTA Partners                           

In January 2024, trade with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners which absorbed 66.9% of Malaysia’s total trade edged up by 11% y-o-y to RM156.99 billion. Exports to FTA partners rose by 5.1% to RM84.12 billion and imports climbed by 18.6% to RM72.87 billion. 

Markets that recorded export growth were the Republic of Korea (ROK) which expanded by 5.1% to RM4.22 billion, supported by higher exports of E&E products. Meanwhile, exports to Australia increased by 34.6% to RM4.89 billion and Pakistan, (↑83.9% to RM570.7 million), bolstered by strong exports of petroleum products, respectively. 

Export expansion was also registered to India which rose by 18.7% to RM3.68 billion, aided by higher exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, Chile (↑38.4% to RM51.9 million, processed food) and Türkiye (↑28.8% to RM1.84 billion, iron and steel products). 

Compared to December 2023, trade, exports and imports edged up by 5.9%, 3.5% and

8.8%, respectively.

Import Performance 

In January 2024, total imports edged up by 18.8% y-o-y to RM112.3 billion. the three main categories of imports by end use, which accounted for 73.8% of total imports were: 

• Intermediate goods, valued at RM58.79 billion or 52.3% of total imports, increased by 21.4%, following higher imports of processed industrial supplies;

• Capital goods, valued at RM13.72 billion or 12.2% of total imports, grew by 41.8%, due to higher imports of non-transport capital goods; and

• Consumption goods, valued at RM10.34 billion or 9.2% of total imports, expanded by 25.4%, as a result of higher imports of processed food and beverages mainly for household consumption.

Compared to December 2023, imports of capital and consumption goods were higher by 11.7% and 12.3%, respectively while imports of intermediate goods declined by 2.1%. 

# Notes:

• It should be noted that, conceptually, the export and import figures in the external trade statistics are different from that in the goods account of the balance of payments compilation. The compilation of international merchandise trade statistics is usually based on customs records, which essentially reflect the physical movement of goods across borders, and follow international guidelines on concepts and definitions i.e. International Merchandise Trade Statistics: Concepts and Definitions 2010 (IMTS 2010) which is different from the principles of the System of National Accounts (SNA) and the Balance of Payments Compilation. Goods are defined in the SNA as “physical objects for which a demand exists, over which ownership rights can be established and whose ownership can be transferred from one institutional unit to another by engaging in transactions on markets”.

• “This is a preliminary release, full details would be published in the “MONTHLY EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS” report by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia, to be disseminated on Wednesday, 28^th February 2024 and can be downloaded through statistic at the Department of Statistics, Malaysia’s portal (https://newss.statistics.gov.my/newss-portalx/ep/epLogin.seam).

• This media release can be accessed through the portal of Malaysian External Trade Statistics, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (http://www.miti.gov.my) and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (http://www.matrade.gov.my).

• The January 2024 data is provisional and subject to revision in later issue.

• With effect from reference month April 2018, selection of codes for exports and imports of palm oil and palm oilbased products has been reviewed and revised for better representation of the product and this has resulted in some changes to the data.

• FTA partners comprises of 22 countries: China, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, India, Australia, Viet Nam, Philippines, New Zealand, Türkiye, Pakistan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, Chile, Lao PDR, Hong Kong SAR, Canada, Mexico and Peru.

• With effect from reference month of February 2020, the United Kingdom no longer be a Member State of the European Union (EU).

• Commencing from reference month of June 2023, Harmonised Commodity description and Coding system 2023 (HS2023) also known as Customs Duties Order (PDK) 2023 was used for the processing of external trade statistics (merchandise). This coding classification replaced the HS2017 which were in use from April 2017 to May 2023. However, for Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) Rev.4 is still in use with appropriate update.

• Total figure may not add up due to rounding.