Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Ma : Trade Performance for the Month of November 2018 and the Period of January - November 2018

MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY

MALAYSIA

Embargo until 1200 hours, Friday, 4th January 2019

MALAYSIA EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS

TRADE PERFORMANCE FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2018 AND THE PERIOD OF JANUARY- NOVEMBER 2018 #

21st Consecutive Year of Trade Surplus

Malaysia's trade remained steady in November 2018, growing by 3.2% to RM162.03 billion compared to the same month last year. Higher trade was seen with ASEAN, Taiwan, France, Hong Kong SAR, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russian Federation, India and Qatar.

Exports posted a growth of 1.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM84.79 billion in November 2018, while imports were up by 5% to RM77.24 billion. This resulted in a 24% contraction in trade surplus to RM7.55 billion. This surplus marked the 253rd consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997.

On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, total trade, exports and imports were lower by 8.2%, 12% and 3.5%, respectively. Trade surplus narrowed by 53.7%.

Minister of International Trade and Industry

Malaysia

In the first 11 months of 2018, total trade expanded by 6.2% to RM1.72 trillion compared to the same period in 2017. Exports rose to RM914.67 billion, an increase of 6.9% and imports grew by 5.3% to RM805.12 billion. Trade surplus registered a double-digit growth of 20.2% to reach a value of RM109.55 billion during the period.

Export Performance of Major Sectors

Manufactured & Mining Goods Continued to Lead Export Growth

In November 2018, exports of manufactured goods rose by 2.2% y-o-y to RM70.35 billion and accounted for 83% of Malaysia's total exports. This was supported by higher exports of petroleum products, chemicals and chemical products, optical and scientific equipment as well as iron and steel products which compensated the contraction in exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products. E&E products decreased by RM528.2 million or 1.7%, the first decline since March 2018.

Exports of mining goods expanded by 16.1% to RM8.33 billion, accounting for 9.8% of total exports in November 2018. Higher exports were recorded for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude petroleum due mainly to higher Average Unit Value (AUV).

Exports of agriculture goods which accounted for 6.6% of total exports declined by 17.6% to RM5.56 billion. This was mainly due to lower exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, particularly palm oil, on account of lower AUV.

Major exports in November 2018:

•  E&E products valued at RM31.18 billion, constituting 36.8% of total exports, decreased by 1.7% from November 2017;

•  Petroleum products, RM7.47 billion, 8.8% of total exports, increased by 41.2%;

•  Chemicals and chemical products, RM5.03 billion, 5.9% of total exports, increased by 15.1%;

•  LNG, RM4.56 billion, 5.4% of total exports, increased by 26.4%; and

•  Palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, RM3.7 billion, 4.4% of total exports, decreased by 21.1%.

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Compared to October 2018, exports of manufactured goods contracted by 13.1%, mining goods by 4.2% and agriculture goods by 9%.

In the first 11 months of 2018, exports of manufactured goods which constituted 83.7% of total exports expanded by 9.2% to RM765.78 billion compared to the corresponding period of 2017. Higher exports were recorded for E&E products, chemicals and chemical products, manufactures of metal, petroleum products as well as optical and scientific equipment. Exports of mining goods (8.7% share) increased by 8% to RM79.41 billion, mainly led by higher exports of crude petroleum. Meanwhile, exports of agriculture goods (6.8% share) decelerated by 13.8% to

RM62.23 billion, owing to lower exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products as well as natural rubber.

Trade Performance with Major Markets

Exports to ASEAN Sustained Positive Growth for 6 Consecutive Months

Trade with ASEAN in November 2018 increased by 4% y-o-y to RM45.84 billion and constituted 28.3% of Malaysia's total trade. Exports expanded by 6.4% to RM26.17 billion, underpinned by higher exports of crude petroleum, E&E products and petroleum products. These three products contributed 56.1% of Malaysia's exports to ASEAN. Imports from ASEAN were up by 0.9% to RM19.67 billion.

Breakdown of exports to ASEAN countries in November 2018:

	Singapore	RM	13.10 billion, increased by 7.1%
	Thailand	RM	4.75 billion, ↑3.7%
	Viet Nam	RM	3.34 billion, ↑39.0%
	Indonesia	RM	2.81 billion, ↓13.2%
	Philippines	RM	1.48 billion, ↓0.7%
	Myanmar	RM	370.5 million, ↑10.3%
	Brunei	RM	189.4 million, ↓1.7%
	Cambodia	RM	116.7 million, ↑7.1%
	Lao PDR	RM	3.6 million, ↓19.2%
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Exports to major markets in ASEAN that recorded significant increases were Viet Nam, which expanded by RM938.5 million due to higher exports of petroleum products while Singapore (↑RM872.2 million) and Thailand (↑RM170.7 million), led by higher exports of crude petroleum.

On a m-o-m basis, trade with ASEAN slipped by 6.1%. Exports and imports also declined by 4.1% and 8.6%, respectively.

For the first 11 months of 2018, trade with ASEAN grew by 4.6% to RM468.16 billion compared to the same period of 2017. Exports to this region rose by 4.8% to

RM261.97 billion, aided by higher exports of E&E products, crude petroleum, manufactures of metal, chemicals and chemical products as well as transport equipment. Imports increased by 4.4% to RM206.2 billion.

Exports to China Continued to Expand

Trade with China which absorbed 16.4% of Malaysia's total trade declined marginally by 0.2% y-o-y to RM26.51 billion in November 2018. Exports to China rose by 3.9% to

RM11.65 billion, benefiting from higher exports of chemicals and chemical products, petroleum products as well as LNG. Imports from China were lower by 3.3% to

RM14.85 billion.

Compared to October 2018, trade and exports contracted by 10.8% and 22.9%, respectively, while imports were up by 1.8%.

Trade with China in the first 11 months of 2018 expanded by 8.5% to RM286.86 billion compared to the same period last year. For this period, exports to China recorded a strong growth of 11.3% to RM127.4 billion, buoyed by higher exports of chemicals and chemical products, E&E products, LNG, manufactures of metal as well as optical and scientific equipment. Imports from China rose by 6.3% to RM159.46 billion.

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Moderate Performance in Trade with the EU

Malaysia's trade with the European Union (EU) in November 2018 amounted to RM15.37 billion or 9.5% of Malaysia's total trade, an increase of 1% compared to

November 2017. Exports were lower by 7.7% to RM7.52 billion, owing mainly to lower shipments of E&E products. However, better export performance were seen in exports of palm oil-based manufactured products, chemicals and chemical products, optical and scientific equipment, machinery, equipment and parts as well as transport equipment. Imports from the EU were up by 10.9% to RM7.85 billion.

Among the top 10 EU markets which accounted for 90.8% of Malaysia's total exports to the EU, only 3 countries recorded expansion namely, Spain (↑81.2%), Italy (↑38.2%) and Poland (↑16.2%).

On a m-o-m basis, trade with the EU declined by 2.6%. Exports decreased by 12.1% while imports were up by 8.7%.

In January-November 2018, trade with the EU soared by 7.2% to RM168.68 billion compared to the same period last year. Exports grew by 4.3% to RM90.66 billion, steered by higher exports to Germany, Italy and Spain. The increase in exports were driven by higher exports of manufactures of metal, chemicals and chemical products, rubber products as well as iron and steel products. Imports from the EU rose by 10.7% to RM78.02 billion.

Trade with the US - Positive Growth since July 2018

Malaysia's trade with United States of America (US) in November 2018 recorded a marginal growth of 0.7% to RM12.77 billion and accounted for 7.9% of Malaysia's total trade. Exports to the US stood at RM7.28 billion, reduced by 3.6% with softer demand for manufactured goods, particularly E&E products. E&E products contributed 51.3% of Malaysia's exports to the US. Higher exports, however, were registered for optical and scientific equipment, rubber products, machinery, equipment and parts as well as wood products. Imports grew by 7.1% to RM5.49 billion.

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