Malaysia recorded RM98.9bil in wholesale and retail trade in July this year

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia amassed RM98.9bil in wholesale and retail trade in July, recording a 5.7% increase compared to the same month last year.

The Malaysian Statistics Department noted that the retail trade sub-sector was the main driver, recording a 7.1% increase, followed by wholesale trade (6.6%).

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin (pic) said the volume index of wholesale and retail rose by 6.3% to 132.9 points, as against the same month last year.

"The retail trade attributed to the increase (8.4%)," he said.

Manufacturing sales also grew by 6% in July, registering RM74.2bil in value," he said of the latest statistics released in the afternoon.

The year-on-year growth registered in sales value in July 2019 was driven by the non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (7.4%), followed by petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (5.9%), as well as the electrical and electronic products (5.8%).

The number of employees in the manufacturing sector also increased by 1.3% in July, bringing the total number of workforce in the sector to 1.088 million.

"Salaries and wages paid for employees in this sector also increased by 3.4% in July, amounting to RM4bil.

"The sales value per employee grew by 4.7% (RM68,193) as compared to the same month last year," he said.

The Industrial Production Index also grew by 1.2% in July, as compared to the same month last year.

He attributed the growth to increase in the index of manufacturing (4%) and electricity (2%).

On a year-on-year basis, the manufacturing sector output rose by 4% in July, after recording a 3.8% growth in the preceding month.

Major sub-sectors contributing to the growth were electrical and electronic products (4.9%), petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (3.4%), followed by the non-metallic mineral products, basic metal, and fabricated metal products (4.4%).

Meanwhile, the mining sector index registered a decline of 8.4% in July.

Dr Mohd Uzir attributed the decline in the mining sector to decrease in the crude oil and condensate index (-22.7%) whereas the natural gas index increased by 7.3%.