Malaysia Trade Surplus Widens in May
2026-07-20 04:08
By
Chusnul Chotimah
1 min. read
Malaysia’s trade surplus widened to MYR 14.9 billion in May 2026 from MYR 9.0 billion in the same month last year, as exports grew faster than imports.
Exports surged 45.4% year-on-year to MYR 177.9 billion, marking the strongest growth since August 2022, mainly driven by the manufacturing sector, which jumped 47.3%, particularly electrical and electronic products (56.9%) and petroleum products (55.6%).
By destination, exports grew sharply to the US (108.6%), Singapore (47.6%), China (36.1%), and the EU (29.7%).
Imports surged 43.9% yoy to a record MYR 163.0 billion, the fastest increase since August 2022, supported by higher purchases of intermediate goods (41.3%), consumption goods (17.2%), and capital goods (67.4%).
Import growth was strongest from China (56.6%), followed by Singapore (84.2%) and Taiwan (35.1%), while imports from the US plunged 38.0%.
For H1 of the year, the country’s trade surplus reached MYR 147.1 billion, with exports soaring 27.5% and imports climbing 16.9%.