KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s total trade jumped 44.7 per cent to RM340.9 billion in June, driven by strong growth in both exports and imports.
The Statistics Department said exports rose 45.4 per cent to RM177.9 billion, while imports increased 43.9 per cent to RM163 billion.
This resulted in the country’s 74th consecutive monthly trade surplus since May 2020, with the surplus expanding 64.9 per cent to RM14.9 billion.
Compared with May 2026, imports and total trade increased 13.2 per cent and 4.0 per cent, respectively.
However, exports and the trade surplus declined 3.2 per cent and 62.7 per cent month-on-month.
The department said export growth was supported by higher domestic exports and re-exports.
Re-exports, which accounted for 22.1 per cent of total exports, climbed 48.7 per cent year-on-year to RM39.3 billion.
Domestic exports, which made up the remaining 77.9 per cent, rose 44.6 per cent to RM138.6 billion.
Higher shipments to the United States led export growth, rising RM18.1 billion from a year earlier.
This was followed by Singapore (RM8.1 billion), China (RM5.4 billion), Taiwan (RM3.1 billion), the European Union (RM2.7 billion), Japan (RM2.6 billion) and Thailand (RM2.5 billion).
On the import side, higher purchases from China led the increase, rising RM15.8 billion.
Imports also increased from Singapore (RM10 billion), South Korea (RM4.6 billion), the United States (RM4.2 billion), Taiwan (RM3.5 billion), India (RM2.2 billion) and the European Union (RM2.2 billion).
For the second quarter of 2026, total trade grew 34.1 per cent, supported by a 42.4 per cent increase in exports and a 25.4 per cent rise in imports.
The trade surplus for the quarter surged 449.2 per cent to RM84 billion.
In the first six months of 2026, total trade expanded 22.4 per cent to RM1.8 trillion from RM1.5 trillion a year earlier.
Exports rose 27.5 per cent, while imports increased 16.9 per cent.
The trade surplus for the January-June period jumped 159.8 per cent to RM147.1 billion.
Meanwhile, the department said it is conducting the Economic Census 2026 (BE2026), themed “Data Nadi Ekonomi Rakyat”, from Jan 5 to Oct 31.
It said the census aims to collect comprehensive and structured data from all registered and unregistered business establishments nationwide to assess Malaysia’s economic performance, structure and characteristics using evidence-based data.