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MALAYSIA has achieved its strongest external trade performance in 44 months, with total commercial trade expanding by 29.8 per cent (year on year) to hit an unprecedented RM327.6 billion.
The phenomenal economic expansion was anchored by an exceptional 44.3 per cent surge in national exports, which scaled a historic high of RM184 billion ringgit to eclipse the prior record set just a month earlier in April this year.
According to official metrics released by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), the export sector has maintained an unbroken upward trajectory for eleven consecutive months, marking the most robust outbound trade performance the Southeast Asian nation has witnessed since August, 2022.
Export growth was primarily driven by manufactured and mining products, both of which recorded double-digit expansion.
Electrical and electronic products remained the key contributor, increasing RM38 billion to a new record high, supported by robust demand for artificial intelligence related and automotive technologies.
Growth was also reinforced by higher exports of petroleum products, liquefied natural gas and optical and scientific equipment.
While exports surged to historic heights, national imports grew at a comparatively measured pace of 14.1 per cent to settle at RM143.6 billion, reflecting resilient domestic manufacturing appetite alongside expanding global supply lines.
The stark divergence between soaring outbound shipments and stable imports allowed Malaysia’s monthly trade surplus to widen to an absolute record high of RM40.38 eight billion, extending the country’s uninterrupted surplus streak to 73 consecutive months since May of 2020.
Federal trade investigators noted that the exceptional performance was remarkably broad-based, with all premier international trading partners including China, the United States, ASEAN nations, the European Union, and Taiwan registering robust double-digit growth.
Outbound shipments destined for both Taiwan and the European Union climbed to historic thresholds, illustrating an rising demand for Malaysian industrial outputs across both advanced tech economies and emerging global markets.
Complementing this performance, Malaysia's extensive network of Free Trade Agreements continued to expand market opportunities, contributing to higher exports particularly to Mexico, the UK, Canada and Pakistan across a diverse range of products.
The May data has significantly upgraded the country's macroeconomic trajectory for the first 5 months of 2026, lifting total aggregate trade between January and May by 18.3 per cent to a historic RM1.455 trillion.
Over this cumulative five-month period, overall exports advanced by 24.3 per cent to RM793.84 billion, while inbound imports climbed 11.8 per cent to RM661.07 billion.
This resulted in a trade surplus of RM132.77 billion. Trade, exports, imports, and trade surplus all reached historic highs for the January to May period.
MITI officials concluded that despite highly erratic global macroeconomic headwinds and shifting geopolitical landscapes, Malaysia’s diversified industrial base has proven highly resilient, with the high-tech electronics subsector firmly established as the primary locomotive for national economic growth. - June 19, 2026
