Malaysia's Exports Climb 17.2% In July

On MSN news.

• By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 8/3/2010
  
  Malaysia exports climb 17.2 percent in June
  
  Malaysia said Tuesday its exports, the mainstay of the economy, had risen 17.2 percent year-on-year in June due to stronger demand for electronic goods and liquefied natural gas.
  
  Export-dependent Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third-largest economy, was hit hard by the global slowdown and its economy shrank 1.7 percent last year.
  
  The trade ministry said in a statement that shipments had risen to 52.83 billion ringgit (16.7 billion dollars), while imports were up 30.1 percent at 46.79 billion ringgit, producing a surplus of 6.04 billion ringgit.
  
  The increase was due to greater exports of electrical and electronic goods, liquefied natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, palm oil and rubber products, among others.
  
  Electrical and electronic items account for 40.2 percent of Malaysia's total exports to markets such as Singapore, China, the United States and Japan.
  
  The economy is forecast to grow 5.5 percent this year, but Prime Minister Najib Razak recently said he was aiming for 6.0 percent this year, as he unveiled a 69-billion-dollar development plan aimed at spurring growth.
  
  Malaysia expects exports to grow between six and seven percent this year as demand improves. Exports dipped 16.6 percent in 2009. ( Source: http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4253975 )

Hmm... it's a comparison made versus last June, June 2009.

Hmmm... I rather use BNM website.

http://www.bnm.gov.my/files/publication/msb/2010/6/pdf/7.4.pdf

Now if I compile the numbers into a more simplified table and include a June export number of 52.830 billion, this would how our exports would look like..

Yes, compare to 2009, our current figures looks superb!

But...but... butttt.... if I HIDE the 2009 column... (why because 2009 was a terrible trading year for most countries globally and any comparison made versus 2009 would be rather meaningless!).. this is what I see. The dark yellow colored boxes indicates where 2010 fared worse than 2008.

How?

Here's the preliminary report from the our statistics department.

http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=538&Itemid=61&lang=en

Here's Business Times article: Slower Malaysia export growth in June

• MALAYSIAN exports in June 2010 grew slower than market expectations, in tandem with the performance of regional peers.
  
  The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) said exports rose by 17.2 per cent year-on-year in June, while imports grew by 30.1 per cent year-on-year. Trade surplus stood at RM6.04 billion.
  
  Miti said the rise in exports was broad-based, namely electrical and electronic products, liquefied natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, optical & scientific equipment, palm oil, manufactures of metal, crude petroleum, crude rubber and rubber products.
  
  Commenting on the latest trade data, HSBC Bank Asian economist Wellian Wiranto said it points towards slower exports momentum going forward alongside its regional peers.
  
  The latest reading is the slowest since November last year due largely to the petering out of base effects.
  
  "All in all, the picture for Malaysia's exports is roughly the same as the picture we see for the region in general going forward: a less enthusiastic pace of expansion, but no double-dip," he said.
  
  Wiranto said given the relative slowdown in trading activities around the region, it may get comparatively harder for the exports of electronics, although he expects receipts from the segment to be within the RM19 billion to RM21 billion range.

Here's Star Business version: Malaysia’s exports advance 17.2% in June