Malaysia Export Growth at Over 3-Year High
2026-02-20 04:31
By
Farida Husna
1 min. read
Malaysia’s exports soared 19.6% yoy to MYR 146.87 billion in January 2026, exceeding market forecasts of 13.7% and picking up strongly from a marginally revised 10.2% gain in the prior month.
It also marked the strongest annual export growth since September 2022, boosted by solid external demand ahead of the Lunar New Year and Ramadan across key Asian markets.
Manufacturing shipments climbed 22.3%, supported by E&E products (39.5%) and optical & scientific equipment (36.2%).
Mining exports grew 2.7%, mainly lifted by metalliferous ores and metal scrap (207.7%).
In contrast, arrivals of agricultural products fell 2.7%, largely weighed by palm oil (-2.3%).
By destinations, sales increased to most countries, including the U.S.
(33.9%), China (16.1%), the EU (26.0%), Hong Kong (58.0%), Taiwan (79.4%), Vietnam (60%), India (35.7%), and ASEAN (7.1%).
In contrast, exports fell to Japan (-0.4%) and Australia (-22.0%).
In 2025, total exports dipped 3.7% from a year earlier to MYR 1.6 trillion.