English
Malaysia records slightly lower trade in 2019
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s overall trade for 2019 came in lower than its RM2 trillion target following a 2.5% contraction to RM1.84 trillion.
This was on the back of a softer global demand amid trade tensions and unfavourable external economic conditions. In terms of trade surplus however, the figure rose 11% to RM137.39bil, the largest figure recorded since 2009.
Deputy International Trade and Industry (Miti) Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming said there were many headwinds in 2019, not only for Malaysia but also to other open economies.
“We have rising trade tensions, not only between the United States and China but also between Japan and the Republic of Korea.
“There was also a downturn in the global semiconductor cycle and also lower commodity prices, led by crude oil and palm oil prices,” he said during the Malaysia Trade Performance 2019 announcement here Tuesday.
China remained the country’s largest trading partner for the 11th consecutive year, accounting for 17.2% of Malaysia’s total trade or RM315.19bil.
This was a 0.2% increase from 2018.
Lower trade was recorded with Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Thailand and Japan while higher trade was registered with the US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Philippines, Cambodia, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
ASEAN, which accounted for 26.6% of Malaysia’s total trade or at RM488.91bil, recorded a decrease of 4.4%. “Our trade with Singapore and Thailand slipped slightly but our trade with Vietnam rose 1.2% to RM34.73bil.
“We also recorded interesting trends in other emerging markets such as Mexico where our trade rose 8% to RM9.05bil, Bangladesh which went up 7.6% to RM9.7bil and Nigeria with an increase of 16.6% to RM2.01bil,” said Ong.
On his outlook for 2020, Ong said Malaysia’s external trade environment is expected to remain modest amid a challenging global environment. He said Malaysia’s target of hitting RM2 trillion in overall trade this year is maintained.
“(Prior to the coronavirus outbreak) Most people anticipated that 2020 would be better in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), trade outlook for the world, Malaysia and Southeast Asia. That’s the kind of positive we have,” he said.
Addressing a press conference later, Ong told reporters that it is too early to tell in terms of the possible impact of the virus outbreak on trade.
“No doubt there will be some disruption in the supply chain in China and globally, we don’t know exactly what negative effect it will have.
“We can anticipate a slowdown of Chinese economy in the first quarter and because of the importance of China in the global trade and the economic value chain compared to the SARS outbreak in 2003, the effect might be bigger,” Ong said adding that they hoped to see a rebound by the second quarter this year.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2020/02/04/malaysia-records-slightly-lower-trade-in-2019