skyline at night in Malaysia

Malaysia Trade

Malaysia Trade

Merchandise Trade Balance in Malaysia

The merchandise trade balance in Malaysia averaged USD 34.4 billion in the decade to 2022. The 2022 reading was USD 58.2 billion. For more trade information, visit our dedicated page.

Malaysia Trade Chart

Note: This chart displays Trade Balance (USD billion) for Malaysia from 2014 to 2023.
Source: MSCI Inc.

Malaysia Trade Data

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) 30.7 35.2 43.6 61.2 58.2

Merchandise exports drop at a more pronounced pace in December

Merchandise exports shrank 14.8% annually in December (November: -7.7% year-on-year). Meanwhile, merchandise imports declined 2.5% in annual terms in December (November: -0.2% yoy). As a result, the merchandise trade balance deteriorated from the previous month, recording a USD 2.5 billion surplus in December (November 2023: USD 2.6 billion surplus; December 2022: USD 6.3 billion surplus). Lastly, the trend deteriorated, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 47.1 billion surplus in December, compared to the USD 50.9 billion surplus in November.

UOB analysts Julia Goh and Loke Siew Ting commented on the outlook: “For the full year of 2023, exports plunged the most since 2009 […]. However, this low base is expected to be a plus point to 2024’s export growth outlook. There are also signs of a further recovery in the regional trade amid an expected upturn in the global tech cycle, continued stabilisation in China’s economy, a soft landing in the world economy and gradual monetary policy easing by global central banks.”

Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years

How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Malaysian trade projections for the next ten years from a panel of 5 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable trade forecast available for Malaysian trade.

Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Malaysian trade projections.

Want to get access to the full dataset of Malaysian trade forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.

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