KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 20): Malaysia’s exports climbed to a record in December, defying an expected year-end slowdown and pushing total annual trade past the RM3.1 trillion threshold for the first time.

Shipments abroad rose 10.4% from a year earlier to RM153.0 billion, according to data from the Department of Statistics released on Tuesday. The result blew past the 2.5% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists and represented a significant acceleration from November’s 7% growth, which, in contrast to December's performance, had significantly undershot the 11.6% forecast.

Trade surplus rose a marginal 0.1% to RM19.3 billion, marking the 68th consecutive month of black ink since May 2020. On a month-on-month basis, the surplus narrowed the gap from November's slump, surging 216.8% as export growth (13.4%) outpaced the rise in imports (3.7%).

For the full year of 2025, Malaysia's exports grew 6.5%, while imports rose 6.2%, raising total trade by 6.3% to RM3.1 trillion and lifting the annual trade surplus by 9.2% to RM151.8 billion.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the December performance reflected broad-based growth in both re-exports and domestic exports. Re-exports, which accounted for 25% of the total, surged 35.0% year-on-year to RM38.2 billion, while domestic exports—making up 75% of the total—rose 4.0% to RM114.8 billion.

On a product basis, export growth was primarily fueled by the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector, which saw shipments jump by RM14.9 billion. Other significant contributors included metalliferous ores and metal scrap, optical and scientific equipment, machinery, and iron and steel products.

By destination, higher exports were led by the United States (up RM9.2 billion), followed by the European Union (RM3.2 billion), Taiwan (RM2.2 billion), Viet Nam (RM1.9 billion), and Hong Kong (RM1.2 billion).

The 12% year-on-year rise in imports was largely attributed to stronger inflows from China (up RM7.9 billion), followed by South Korea, Vietnam, Costa Rica, and Japan.

Mohd Uzir noted that the import uptick reflected higher demand for consumption goods, which rose 27.6% to RM13.1 billion, and intermediate goods, which increased 3.6% to RM63.2 billion. However, capital goods bucked the overall trend, declining 11.8% to RM15.3 billion.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim highlighted the RM3.1 trillion milestone in Parliament, underscoring the resilience of the nation's trade position amidst shifting global dynamics.