June Trade Contracts By 16.3% To RM222.14 Billion

MATRADE released the latest trade figures for June as expected trade contracted however trade surplus registered a double-digit growth of 11.3% year- on-year to RM25.81 billion. This was the 38th consecutive month of trade surplus since May 2020 and the highest monthly value ever recorded for the month of June.

The agency under MITI, said in tandem with slower global demand and lower commodity prices, total trade contracted by 16.3% to RM222.14 billion. Exports slipped by 14.1% to RM123.98 billion and imports decreased by 18.9% to RM98.16 billion. The performance was similar to other regional markets notably China, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) which recorded negative trade growth for June 2023.

Despite the decline, strong exports was posted primarily for electrical and electronic (E&E) products, iron and steel products, metalliferous ores and metal scrap, transport equipment as well as processed food.

Compared to May 2023, exports and trade surplus expanded by 3.7% and 64.4% while trade and imports were down by 0.5% and 5.4%, respectively.

Trade for the second quarter (Q2) of 2023 decreased by 11.3% to RM643.22 billion compared to Q2 2022. Exports edged down by 11.1% to RM348.68 billion, imports dropped by 11.5% to RM294.54 billion and trade surplus declined by 8.8% to RM54.14 billion, respectively.

Compared to the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, imports increased by 1.5% while trade, exports and trade surplus dipped by 0.2%, 1.7% and 15.9%, respectively.

For the first half (H1) of 2023, trade shrank by 4.6% to RM1.288 trillion compared to the same period last year. Exports eased by 4.5% to RM703.27 billion, imports contracted by 4.7% to RM584.75 billion and trade surplus was down by 3.6% to RM118.52 billion, respectively.

Export Performance of Major Sectors

Exports of E&E Products Remained Steady Amidst Lower Total Exports. In June 2023, exports of manufactured goods which constituted 87.7% or RM108.78 billion of total exports fell by 9.5% y-o-y on lower exports of petroleum products, palm oil-based manufactured products as well as chemicals and chemical products. Despite the contraction, higher exports was recorded for E&E products, iron and steel products as well as transport equipment.

Exports of agriculture goods (6% share) totalled RM7.44 billion, edged down by 42.1% compared to June 2022 owing mainly to lower export of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products. This was due to significant decrease in export prices of palm oil despite the higher export volume.

Exports of mining goods (5.6% share) declined by 34.9% y-o-y to RM6.91 billion on the back of lower exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude petroleum.

E&E products, valued at RM54.07 billion and accounted for 43.6% of total exports, increased by 3.2% compared to June 2022;

• Petroleum products, RM12.59 billion, 10.2% of total exports, ↓28.7%; Chemicals and chemical products, RM5.59 billion, 4.5% of total exports, ↓19%; Palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, RM5.45 billion, 4.4% of total
  exports, ↓49.2%; and Manufactures of metal, RM5.05 billion, 4.1% of total exports, ↓15.9%.

On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, exports of manufactured and agriculture goods expanded by 6.5% and 0.1%, respectively while exports of mining goods declined by 25.4%.