Export and import recorded growth in December
05 Feb 2021
Both export and import unit value indices grew 1% and 0.4% respectively in December 2020 compared to November 2020, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the export unit value index posted a positive growth at 1% in December, which was contributed by the growth in the indexes of animal and vegetable oils and fats (+7.7%), mineral fuels (+5%) and manufactured goods (+0.6%).
The export volume index also grew 11.9% compared to the previous month which was contributed by the better performance of animal and vegetable oils and fats (+49%), mineral fuels (+16.6%) and machinery and transport equipment (+8.7%) indexes.
“The seasonally adjusted export volume index registered an expansion of 12.2% from 139.9 points to 157 points. When compared to the previous year, the export unit value index dropped 3%, while the export volume index rose 14.2%,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Mohd Uzir also commented that the import unit value index expanded to 0.4% in December compared to the previous month.
The expansion was contributed by increases in animal and vegetable oils and fats (+7.7%), mineral fuels (+6.5%) and manufactured goods (+0.5%) indexes.
Similarly, the import volume index also grew by 10.5% which was contributed by the better performance of chemicals (+14.3%), manufactured goods (+11.1%) and machinery and transport equipment (+10.3%) indexes.
The seasonally adjusted import volume index in December rose 12.4% from 131.8 points to 148.1 points.
The import unit value index declined 4.2%, while import volume index expanded 6% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.
The department also reported that Malaysia’s terms of trade rose 0.6% month-on-month from 99.6 points to 100.2 points in December.
On a YoY basis, Malaysia’s terms of trade also showed a similar trend at 1.3% from 99 points to 100.2 points in December.
Source: The Malaysian Reserve
