In a statement, Miti said exports accelerated by 17.6% to RM87.57 billion and imports rose by 12.7% to RM69.7 billion, resulting in the trade surplus surging by 41.6% to RM17.86 billion in February.

The ministry said exports recorded the fastest growth since October 2018, supported by increase in global demand notably for electrical and electronics (E&E) products, mainly semiconductor, rubber products as well as commodity-based products, particularly petroleum products and palm oil.

Higher exports were from most major markets namely Asean, China, US, European Union (EU), Japan and Hong Kong.

Compared with January, trade surplus increased by 7.6%.

However, total trade, exports and imports were lower by 3.3%, 2.3% and 4.5%, respectively.

“For January to February 2021, exports recorded a double-digit growth of 11.7% to RM177.19 billion, compared with the same period in 2020, while imports rose by 6.6% to RM142.73 billion.

“Total trade expanded by 9.4% to RM319.92 billion and trade surplus surged by 39.8% to RM34.47 billion,” Miti said.

It added that exports of manufactured goods in February, which contributed 86.6% to total exports, recorded a growth of 20.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM75.83 billion, mainly due to higher exports of E&E, rubber and petroleum products.

The higher demand of semiconductors for smart devices, 5G network and automotive industry as the global economic activities continued to recover, contributed to the stronger performance.

The E&E products, valued at RM31.22 billion, constituted 35.7% of total exports, an increase by 24.4% from February 2020, rubber products (RM6.68 billion) which accounted for 7.6% of total exports, surged by 188.7%, while petroleum products (RM6.68 billion) which made up 7.6% of total exports, increased by 32.1%, it said.

Meanwhile, exports of agriculture goods (6.5% share) rose by 9.7% to RM5.69 billion compared with February last year, buoyed mainly by higher shipments of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products.

Exports of mining goods (5.9% share) saw y-o-y contraction of 7.8% in February to RM5.19 billion compared with a decline of 31% in January.

The decline was due to lower exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude petroleum.

In February, trade with Asean, which constituted RM40.95 billion or 26% of Malaysia’s total trade, increased by 13.2% compared with February 2020.

Miti said exports recorded a double-digit expansion of 13.7% to RM24.42 billion, owing to higher exports of E&E and petroleum products, while imports from Asean expanded by 12.4% to RM16.52 billion.

Exports to major markets in Asean that recorded growth included Singapore, which increased by RM1.48 billion mainly attributed to higher exports of E&E products; Thailand, RM63.5 million – other manufactures products especially solid-state storage devices; Vietnam (RM790.2 million – E&E products); and Indonesia (RM359.4 million – petroleum products).

In addition, trade with China surged by 49.8% y-o-y to RM28.76 billion, representing 18.3% of Malaysia’s total trade in February.

Malaysia’s exports to China recorded a double-digit growth of 35.8% to RM12.82 billion amid higher exports of E&E products, petroleum products and LNG, while imports rose by 63.4% to RM15.94 billion.

The ministry said trade with the US accounted for 9.6% of Malaysia’s total trade, registering a growth of 9.3% y-o-y to RM15.06 billion in February.

Exports to the US recorded a double-digit growth of 26% to RM9.99 billion as a result of higher exports of rubber products, and in contrast, imports from the US contracted 13.3% to RM5.07 billion.

It added that total trade with the EU in February rose by 11.8% y-o-y to RM12.75 billion and accounted for 8.1% of Malaysia’s total trade.

Exports continued its upward momentum since September 2020, expanding by 15.3% to RM7.74 billion amid higher exports of rubber products, while imports from the EU rose by 6.7% to RM5.01 billion.

Meanwhile, trade with Japan, which made up 7.3% of Malaysia’s total trade, grew by 6.3% y-o-y to RM11.41 billion in February.

Exports picked up by 2.4% to RM5.74 billion from a negative y-o-y growth in January, contributed mainly by higher exports of rubber products, manufactures of metal and E&E products.

Imports from Japan grew by 10.6% to RM5.68 billion.