Malaysia Balance of Trade

Last Release

Jan 31, 2025

Actual

3,634

Units In

MYR Million

19,134

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Mar 20, 2025

Time to Release

24 Days 6 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
31,700 Sep 2022	-3,633.59 Apr 2020	4,825.97 MYR Million	1970-2025	N/A

International trade plays a large role in Malaysian economy. Since 1998, Malaysia have been reporting consistent trade surpluses, mainly due to rise in exports of electrical and electronics products. In 2015, the biggest trade surpluses were recorded with Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and United States while the biggest trade deficits with China and Taiwan. .

Latest Updates

Malaysia's trade surplus plunged to MYR 3.6 billion in January 2025 from MYR 10.2 billion in the same month of 2023, far below market estimates for a gain of MYR 14.1 billion. It was the smallest trade surplus since April 2020 when the trade balance posted a deficit, mainly due to a surge in imports. Exports rose by 0.3% yoy to MYR 122.8 billion, easing sharply from a 16.9% surge in December and much softer than estimates of 5%, mainly boosted by sales of manufacturing (0.4%) and agriculture (11.0%), while mining & quarrying plunged (-12.6%). Meantime, imports grew by 6.2% to MYR 119.2 billion, much more than forecasts of 2.5%, due to rises in capital goods (45.9%) and intermediate goods (3.3%). By contrast, exports of consumption goods fell by 2.6%. In 2024, the trade surplus plunged by 36.4% from the previous year to MYR 136.8 billion, as imports (13.2%) rose much faster than exports (5.7%).