KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — Malaysia’s export and import unit value indices continued to record positive growth in May 2021, at 0.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent on a monthly basis, respectively, despite the uncertainty of economic activities, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth in the export unit value index was driven by the increases in the index of animal and vegetable oils and fats (+3.1 per cent), mineral fuels (+1.3 per cent), and machinery and transport equipment (+0.2 per cent).
On the other hand, the export volume index recorded a decline of 13.2 per cent in the same month., he said.
“The decline was reflected by the decreases in the index of mineral fuels (-20.9 per cent), machinery and transport equipment (-15.4 per cent) and miscellaneous manufactured articles (-13.1 per cent),” he said.
Mohd Uzir said the seasonally adjusted export volume index decreased by 12.8 per cent to 142.6 points from 163.6 points.
Both the export unit value and volume indices rose 10.7 per cent and 33.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) respectively, he added.
On import unit value index, Mohd Uzir said the increment in May 2021 was contributed by growth in the index of mineral fuels (+7.1 per cent), miscellaneous transactions and commodities (+3.0 per cent), and manufactured goods (+0.9 per cent).
The import volume index, however, decreased 8.6 per cent in May 2021 as compared to the preceding month, attributed to the deterioration in the index of mineral fuels (-34.4 per cent), manufactured goods (- 4.4 per cent), and machinery and transport equipment (-2.3 per cent), he said.
The seasonally adjusted import volume index in May 2021 declined 10.3 per cent to 149.0 points from 166.1 points.
On a YoY basis, both the import unit value and volume indices expanded 3.8 per cent and 44.8 per cent, respectively, he added.
