The investment, trade and industry ministry said this is the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year expansion.
“In line with the global trade recovery, exports in April rebounded by 9.1% y-o-y to RM114.72 billion after two consecutive months of contraction.
“The growth was contributed mainly by higher exports of machinery, equipment and parts, chemicals and chemical products, crude petroleum, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products as well as iron and steel products,” it said in a statement.
In terms of markets, exports to Asean, the US and the EU recorded double-digit growth while exports to China rebounded from negative growth recorded in the previous month.
“This reflects the growing economic recovery in Malaysia’s key export markets,” it said.
The ministry said imports in April grew by 15.6% y-o-y to RM107.02 billion, contributed by strong imports of intermediate goods used mainly for the manufacturing of products for exports.
For the 48th consecutive month since May 2020, Malaysia experienced a trade surplus of RM7.7 billion.
It said the first four months of 2024 recorded the highest values ever for the period for trade, exports and imports, with trade growing by 8.3% to RM912.27 billion compared to the corresponding period in 2023.
Exports increased by 3.8% to RM477.05 billion and imports were higher by 13.7% to RM435.22 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM41.83 billion.
Meanwhile, compared to March 2024, trade, exports, imports, and trade surplus in April 2024 were lower by 9.3%, 10.8%, 7.6%, and 39.4% respectively.
“The contraction was attributed to lower trade with major trading partners, namely Taiwan, Asean, India, Japan and the UAE.
“In terms of products, lower trade was recorded for electrical and electronic (E&E) products, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG),” it said.
The ministry said Malaysia’s exports to free trade agreement partners in April increased by 4.4% y-o-y to RM78.03 billion.
Among the FTA partners that registered export expansion were Hong Kong, Mexico and Canada, led by robust exports of E&E products.