Malaysian trade hits record $M3,721 million surplus

Press, 31 August 1977, Page 18

Malaysian trade hits record $M3,721 million surplus

Malaysia chalked up a < record trade surplus of !$M3,721 million last year — the highest in its history. Announcing this on March 31 the Minister without Portfolio in the Prime iMinister’s Department, Tan ;Sri Chong Hon Nyan said: 'last year's surplus was morel* than five times the surplus of] 1 is7ol million recorded in, 11975. In the last decade there’ had been only two years; (when the trade surplus had! exceeded the billion ringgit! (Malaysian $) level — in 1969; when the surplus was $1.47; billion and in 1973 when it] was $1.44 billion. Tan Sri Chong, who was giving a preview of the 1976]! figures of External Trade! prepared by the Statistics Department to be released 1 shortly, said that the trade ' surplus last year was very 1 “real and significant” for a ’ developing country to record 1 in one year. It showed that the country t was doing very well and was 1 economically bouyant. i Tan Sri Chong disclosed —it Total export earnings in-h creased by 46,6 per cent, from $9.23 billion in 1975 to'< $13.4 billion last year. ;j The Total import bill It amounted to $9.72 billion, an If increase of $1.91 billion or 14jj per cent over that of 1975. j The export receipts from!« Malaysia’s major export com-! modifies — rubber, crude), petroleum, sawlogs and sawn’’ timber — made up more than;' three quarters of the increase 8 in total export earnings. Other major points raised I[ by Tan Sri Chong were: kilo • The average export price ! of rubber was $1.91 per 1 kilo last year, against $1.39 per kilo in 1975 — < an increase of 39 per cent. J • Though the export 1 volume and price of rub- I ber rose substantially last year, and still con- t stituted the largest earner ( of foreign exchange, it < accounted for only 23 j per cent of the export earnings in 1976, against 39 per cent in 1965 — a ' reflection of the diversi- ' fying nature of the Ma- , laysian economy; • Exports of processed [ products particularly ’ timber, palm oil, textiles r also rose substantially. • There was also a sig- c nificant increase in the ex- c ports of petroleum, cop- J per, pepper and prawns: I • There had also been a sharp drop in Malaysia’s I \ food import bill, reflec-ia tion of the success oflv Malaysia’s efforts to It achieve self-sufficiency ;e in foodstuff: je

• For rhe first time Malay-; sia had a trade surplus; with Japan which re-' placed the nine member; E.E.C. (European Economic Community) countries as Malaysia’s big-] gest trading partner. Malaysia also had larger trade surpluses with the I E.E.C. and the United States. ! Malaysia’s trade with Eastern Europe continued to i enjoy substantial surplus during the year. ■ West Asian (Middle East)

countries constituted an im portant market for Malaysian exports, namely timber and palm oil products and exports to these countries rose by 31 per cent last year. Although Malaysia paid out substantial sums in invisible trade, particularly for freight, insurance and travel, the over-all balance of payments was in surplus. | On rubber, Tan Sri Chong said that the 11 per cent increase in export volume and ithe 39 per cent increase in the export price together resulted in an increase of 54 per cent in export earnings to $3,117 million in 1976.

He said that timber and i timber products became the! second largest export income ' generator last year. With favourable demand conditions coupled with highest export prices in 1976. earnings amounted to $2537! million, against $1175 million! in 1976. These export items accounted for 19 per cent of Malaysia’s export receipts in 1976, compared to only 13 per cent in 1975. Tan Sri Chong said that there had also been an increase in the level of exports of petroleum both crude and partly refined. The almost two-fold increase in volume and value was largely caused by the considerable expansion in Malaysia’s production of crude petroleum from 4.61 million tons in 1975 to 7.9 million tons last year. Petroleum has become the] country’s third largest export] commodity in 1976, after rubber and timber and timber products. Tan Sri Chong said that! with this increase in volume] and value, the Government was seriously looking at the! question of petrol prices to ensure that with the petrol; earnings prices for the local]

(Consumer should be kept ; I reasonable. I On tin, he said that r j although Malaysia's pro- - duction of tin fell marginally •Ifrom 63,346 tons in 1976 to 62.399 tons last year the 'export of tin amounted to ■ 80,240 tons in 1976. The • higher export volume was . caused by the drawdown on i tin stocks. > Export earnings from Palm > oil fell by 28 per cent largely because of an eight per cent ) drop in export volume and a

i-21 per cent drop in export n prices. d Tan Sri Chong said that the s decline in volume had been I more than off-set by the increase in the exports of ret fined palm oil and e fractionated palm oil so that t in terms of total earnings g from palm oil crude and res fined there had been a nine I per cent increase in exports. ; The statistics indicated that 8 a larger proportion of the ” commodity was now being “ processed and refined in the n country. £ During the year, the campings from other commodities I I both primary and manufac-

t tured also performed well. On imports. Tan Sri Chong t said since prices of imports; - increased marginally, the iny(crease in imports was the o I result of increase in the; e] volume imported. c>! He added that machinery , e and transport equipment s made up 33 per cent _of, n Malaysia’s imports in 1976.; the largest group of imports.] n followed by manufactured y goods like paper, paper t boards, textile yarn, fabrics,' a iron and steel products. | On food imports. Tan Sri] I Chong said tnere was a 3 I per cent increase over the I total food import bill in I 1975. However, the share of I food imports in Malaysia’s II total imports had declined I (from 16.4 per cent to 14.8 t'per cent in 1976. On the direction of trade, Tan Sri] e; Chong said that resulting: nifrom the boom in exports in I 1-1976 there were significant; ■-1 shifts in Malaysia's balance di of trade positions with her II major trading partners. s Malaysia enjoyed larger! •'(trade surpluses with the e ; E.E.C. (European Economic Community) countries and *!the United States. In the case of some coun-i e| tries with which deficits were recorded in 1975, a trade surplus resulted in g]1976. -■ Japan was Malaysia’s big-

(gest purchaser of saw lops ; and crude petroleum in 1976 (|and the second biggest buyer iof Malaysia's tin. ! About 21 per cent of Malaysia's total exports byvalue were to Japan and at ,the same time Japan sup- ; I plied 21 per cent of Ma jfaysia’J imports. i Tan Sri Chong said that ! Malaysia had a trade surplus I 1 of $776 million with Japan last year, compared to a ■ trade deficit of $369 million .in 1975. I Malaysia's total trade with ‘ E.E.C. countries increased by 16 per cent. Ihe increase ! was caused solely to the increase in exports to the ! E.E.C. 1 Imports from the Common ’ Market countries were lower ! by $53 million. ' Imports from Britain also I fell by $132 million and '! largely accounted for the total drop in imports from ! E.E.C. The A.S.E.A.N. countries. : a group, are Malaysia’s third ■ largest trading partner. • However, almost four-fifths ' of Malaysia's total trade of I ($4,281 million with the \ A.S.E.A.N. countries tn 1976 was represented by trade ; wilh Singapore. 1 About half the increase in 1 exports was made up of the higher exports of tin and rubber.

"MALAYSIA C NATIONAL C DAY 20th Year of Independence