Malaysia's Total Trade Up 37.3 Pct To RM364.7 Bln In July 2026 -- DOSM

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) --  Malaysia’s trade performance continued to strengthen in July 2026, growing by 37.3 per cent to RM364.7 billion from RM265.7 billion a year earlier, supported by sustained growth in both exports and imports.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that Malaysia’s exports expanded 38.0 per cent to RM193.6 billion and imports gained 36.4 per cent to RM171.1 billion, with the trade surplus increasing by 51.9 per cent to RM22.5 billion in the month reviewed. 

"Compared with June 2026, imports and total trade increased 5.5 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively.

"Meanwhile, exports and the trade surplus increased by 8.8 per cent and 42.4 per cent," it said in a statement on Malaysia External Trade Statistics for July 2026. 

From the perspective of commodity groups, 144 out of 258 export groups and 182 out of 259 import groups posted gains compared with the same month of the previous year.

DOSM said the rise in exports was primarily underpinned by increased shipments to the United States (US) (RM14.7 billion), followed by Taiwan (RM7.5 billion), China (RM4.8 billion), Singapore (RM4.3 billion), the European Union (EU) (RM4.0 billion), Hong Kong (RM3.8 billion) and Vietnam (RM3.7 billion). 

Meanwhile, the import rise largely reflected higher inflows originating from China (RM17.2 billion), followed by Singapore (RM7.9 billion), South Korea (RM6.4 billion), India (RM2.7 billion), US (RM2.1 billion), EU (RM2.0 billion) and Thailand (RM1.7 billion).

"Total trade, exports and imports for the period of January to July 2026 registered an improvement. Total trade posted a double-digit increase of 24.7 per cent, from RM1.7 trillion to RM2.2 trillion.

"This was in line with the rise in exports (29.2 per cent) as well as imports (19.8 per cent). Moreover, the trade surplus expanded by 138.7 per cent to RM170.5 billion," it added.

-- BERNAMA