Malaysia closed 2022 with a busy December at the ports. Trade for the month came to RM236.0 billion, up 8.6 per cent from December 2021, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said on Jan. 27.
Imports grew faster than exports. Shipments out of the country climbed 6.0 per cent to RM131.9 billion, while goods coming in rose 12.0 per cent to RM104.1 billion. For the whole of 2022, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, trade reached a new milestone of RM2.8 trillion.
Exports by state
The extra RM7.5 billion in December exports came from most states. Johor added the most, at RM4.3 billion. Sarawak followed with RM2.2 billion, then Selangor and Labuan with RM1.4 billion each. Smaller gains came from Negeri Sembilan (RM264.1 million), Perak (RM230.1 million) and Kedah (RM184.0 million). Melaka, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur and Perlis also rose, by RM97.9 million, RM92.9 million, RM64.8 million and RM14.3 million respectively.
Four states went the other way. Sabah’s exports fell RM1.7 billion. Pahang lost RM563.3 million, Terengganu RM531.0 million and Penang RM93.3 million.
Penang still ranked first among exporters, with a 30.8 per cent share. Johor held 19.2 per cent, Selangor 17.8 per cent, Sarawak 9.1 per cent and Kuala Lumpur 4.7 per cent.
Imports by state
Import spending was RM11.2 billion higher than a year before, the 12.0 per cent rise. Johor accounted for RM5.1 billion of that, Selangor RM2.7 billion and Melaka RM1.8 billion, according to Mohd Uzir, who said most states recorded higher imports.
Selangor took the largest slice of the import bill at 27.2 per cent. Penang had 21.9 per cent, Johor 20.8 per cent, Kuala Lumpur 6.6 per cent and Kedah 5.8 per cent.
