KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s trade grew 9.5% to RM245.2 billion in February 2026 from RM223.9 billion a year earlier, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.
Exports rose 10.8% to RM131 billion, while imports increased 8.2% to RM114.2 billion.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the export growth was driven by both re-exports and domestic exports.
“Re-exports, which accounted for 20.3% of total exports, rose 24.8% year-on-year to RM26.6 billion. Domestic exports, representing 79.7% of total exports, expanded 7.7% to RM104.3 billion,” he said in a statement accompanying the release of the February 2026 Malaysia External Trade Statistics Report today.
Correspondingly, imports increased 8.2% to RM114.2 billion. The trade surplus widened 32.5% to RM16.7 billion, marking the 70th consecutive month of surplus since May 2020.
Compared with January 2026, exports, imports, total trade and the trade surplus fell 10.8%, 8.5%, 9.8% and 23.9%, respectively.
By commodity group, 87 of 258 export groups and 135 of 258 import groups posted gains compared with February 2025.
Export growth was mainly driven by higher shipments to the United States (+RM7.4 billion), Taiwan (+RM3.3 billion), the European Union (+RM3.2 billion), Hong Kong (+RM2.2 billion), China (+RM1.7 billion), Thailand (+RM834.2 million) and South Korea (+RM621.6 million).
The rise in imports reflected increased inflows from China (+RM6.1 billion), South Korea (+RM3.6 billion), Taiwan (+RM3.3 billion), Costa Rica (+RM1.1 billion), Vietnam (+RM1.1 billion), Switzerland (+RM655.1 million) and the European Union (+RM650.3 million).
Exports were boosted by shipments of electrical and electronic (E&E) products (+RM13.5 billion); other manufactures (+RM3.0 billion); metalliferous ores and metal scrap (+RM2.4 billion); optical and scientific equipment (+RM2 billion); other goods (+RM325.1 million); and crude petroleum (+RM72.4 million).
Imports rose mainly on stronger inflows of E&E products (+RM13.3 billion); metalliferous ores and metal scrap (+RM1.4 billion); other goods (+RM1.1 billion); machinery, equipment and parts (+RM629.4 million); optical and scientific equipment (+RM612.5 million); and other manufactures (+RM533.7 million).
Mohd Uzir noted that import growth by end use was driven by higher demand for capital goods, consumption goods and intermediate goods.
Imports of capital goods, accounting for 14% of total imports, rose 15.4% or RM2.1 billion to RM15.9 billion. Consumption goods (8.1% of total imports) increased 1.5% or RM136.7 million to RM9.2 billion. Intermediate goods (51.8% of total imports) rose 0.8% or RM474.5 million to RM59.2 billion.
For January-February 2026, total trade rose 11% to RM516.9 billion from RM465.8 billion a year earlier, driven by a 15.2% increase in exports and a 6.4% rise in imports. The trade surplus surged 137.6% to RM38.7 billion.
