KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s trade rose 9.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) in September 2025 to RM257.51bil, reversing the previous month’s contraction.
In a statement, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said exports increased 12.2% y-o-y to RM138.68bil, the second highest this year, while imports grew 7.3% to RM118.82bil.
The trade surplus stood at RM19.86bil, marking 65 consecutive months of surplus since May 2020.
MITI said export growth in September 2025 was recorded across all sectors. The manufacturing sector led the expansion, driven by electrical and electronic (E&E) products, which registered their highest value with an increase of nearly RM11bil.
Other major contributors were machinery, equipment and parts, and optical and scientific instruments. The mining sector turned positive after 13 months, driven by higher exports of metalliferous ores and metal scrap. In agriculture, palm oil and related products saw the strongest growth.
Malaysia recorded an uptick in exports to major trading partners, namely Asean, China, the US, Taiwan and the European Union (EU).
Exports continued to expand to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners with significant increases registered for Mexico, India, Australia, New Zealand, Turkiye, the United Kingdom (UK), Pakistan and Canada.
“For the period January to September 2025, Malaysia recorded the highest cumulative values for trade, exports and imports to date.
“Trade grew by 4.4% y-o-y to RM2.235 trillion. Exports rose 4.8% to RM1.170 trillion, while imports increased by 4.0% to RM1.064 trillion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM105.65bil,” MITI said.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has raised its 2025 global trade growth forecast to 2.4% from 0.9% in April, citing stronger demand for AI products, higher North American imports before tariff hikes, and firm trade in other regions.
“In line with the global trend, the World Bank has revised
Malaysia’s 2025 economic growth upwards to 4.1% (cf. 3.9% in April 2025). This reflects steady domestic demand and stronger-than-expected external demand, especially in the E&E sector.
“Furthermore, the Economic Outlook 2026 projects Malaysia’s trade to expand by 3.9% in 2025, with exports growing by 3.3% and imports increasing by 4.6%,” MITI said, adding that ongoing trade tensions and potential new tariffs among major economies remain key challenges.
