Malaysia’s trade up 21.5 percent in Jan-May

Penang port in Butterworth, Malaysia (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Kuala Lumpur(VNA) - Malaysia's trade in the first five months of 2022 climbed by 25.1 percent to 1.085 trillion RM (247.6 billion USD) compared to the same period last year, according to the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI).

The country's exports jumped by 23.5 percent to 592.97 billion RM, while imports leaped by 27 percent to 491.85 billion RM.

Trade surplus in the period also edged up by 9 percent to 101.12 billion RM. 

Malaysia's trade performance in May alone remained resilient, recording the fastest growth since November 2021, by 33.6 percent year-on-year to 228.37 billion RM, MITI reported.

Its exports increased by 30.5 percent to 120.49 billion RM (27.37 billion USD) in the month, marking the 10th consecutive month of double-digit growth.

Meanwhile, imports grew by 37.3 percent to 107.88 billion RM, while trade surplus contracted by 8.3 percent to 12.62 billion RM.

The export growth of the Southeast Asian nation was also driven by higher demand for electrical and electronic (E&E) products, petroleum products as well as palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, MITI said./.

VNA