Malaysia’s exports up 15.7% in October, driven by higher trade with countries other than US
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): Exports defied expectations for a second month running in October, jumping 15.7% on higher trade with Singapore, Hong Kong and the European Union, among others, and a jump in electrical and electronics (E&E) product exports. The trade surplus grew 58.9% to RM19.0 billion.
Official exports data beat expectations, rising much faster than Bloomberg economists’ forecast of under 8%.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia said the jump came from higher exports to Singapore (+RM5.1 billion), Hong Kong (+RM2.7 billion), the European Union (+RM2.5 billion) and Taiwan (+RM2.3 billion), among others. Exports worth RM1.2 billion went to China.
This was also thanks to higher shipments of E&E products, which went up by RM14 billion. Exports of palm oil and palm-based agriculture products, optical and scientific equipment and manufacture of metal also saw billion-ringgit jumps.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Malaysia’s exports rose in October, driven by both re-exports and domestic exports. Re-exports, making up 26.4% of total exports, jumped 36.4% to RM39.1 billion, while domestic exports, contributing 73.6%, rose to RM109.2 billion.
Imports were also higher than estimates, up by 11.2% to RM129.3 billion. Malaysia saw higher inflows from China (+RM8.7 billion), Taiwan (+RM3.2 billion), Costa Rica (+RM2.8 billion), and Vietnam (+RM2.2 billion). In terms of products, there were heightened inflows of E&E products (+RM12.6 billion) and metalliferous ores and metal scrap (+RM1.4 billion).
Mohd Uzir said the upswing in imports reflected higher demand for capital goods and consumption goods. Business equipment imports jumped 51.9% to RM18.7 billion, while goods for personal use increased 3.6% to RM10.0 billion. Imports of materials used to make other products fell 5.7% to RM59.2 billion.
Compared with September 2025, exports were up 6.7% and imports up 8.9%. The trade surplus fell 6.1% from RM20.0 billion to RM19.0 billion.
Out of 259 export groups, 152 saw growth, and 137 out of 259 import groups increased compared to the same month last year.
Malaysia’s total trade reached a record RM277.6 billion in October, with trade in the 10-month period reaching RM2.5 trillion.
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