Malaysia's total trade hits US$173.36b up to June
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BUTTERWORTH - Malaysia recorded a positive economic growth of 1.2 per cent for the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, said International Trade and Industry Minister II Ong Ka Chuan.
“In terms of total exports, the total trade from January till June this year is about 700 billion ringgit (US$173.36 billion). The whole of last year, we recorded 1.46 trillion ringgit.
“From the 700 billion ringgit, 36 per cent is contributed by the electric and electronic industries.
“But last year, commodities contributed only 117 billion ringgit of returns from the total exports.
“This means that by just selling raw materials will not return a good price. Innovations are needed, such as in the rubber industry where 60 per cent of the world’s rubber products are supplied by Malaysian companies,” he said during a press conference in Seberang Jaya here yesterday (August 6).
Ong, however, urged industries not to be complacent as they need to continue to improve on weaknesses to attract investors.
He hoped the country would be able to achieve 800 billion ringgit of trade export during the second half of the year in order to obtain a better economic result than last year.
Ong had earlier opened the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Nationwide Roadshow 2016.
(US$1 = 4.04 ringgit as of 8/7/2016 via oanda.com)
