Sarawak's total trade soars 27.8 pct to RM150.9 bln in 2021 - DOSM

KUCHING: Sarawak's total trade for 2021 surged by 27.8 per cent, reaching RM150.9 billion as compared to RM118.1 billion in the previous year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the trade balance also continued to record a surplus with a value of RM52.7 billion, an increase of 45.1 per cent from the previous year.

He said in line with Sarawak's trade performance, exports and imports also showed the same trend.

Mohd Uzir said in 2021, exports increased by 31.8 per cent to RM101.8 billion, while imports increased by 20.1 per cent year-on-year to RM49.1 billion.

"The expansion in exports is in line with higher demand from Peninsular Malaysia (+RM5.3 billion), China (+RM4.9 billion), India (+RM4.3 billion), Japan (+RM3.1 billion) and Kenya (+RM1.8 billion).

"Increased imports were contributed mainly from Peninsular Malaysia (+RM3.3 billion) and China (+RM1.7 billion), followed by Indonesia (+RM761.7 million), Australia (+RM619.5 million) and Singapore (+RM609.1 million)," he said in a statement here today.

Mohd Uzir said that based on goods, the increase in exports was mainly contributed by liquefied natural gas (+RM6.3 billion, +21.8 per cent), palm oil (+RM3.9 billion, +35.5 per cent), crude petroleum (+RM3.3 billion, +45.5 per cent), aluminium (+RM2.7 billion, +53.1 per cent) and condensate and other petroleum oils (+RM2.0 billion, +64.3 per cent).

Meanwhile, imports were driven by refined petroleum products (+RM1.0 billion, +64.1 per cent), aluminium ore and concentrate (+RM973.4 million, +52.3 per cent) and miscellaneous chemical products, n.e.s. (+RM720.9 million, +34.6%), he said.

"Peninsular Malaysia is the main trading partner that contributes 25.3 per cent to Sarawak's total trade, followed by China (17.9 per cent), Japan (15.1 per cent), South Korea (6.7 per cent) and India (6.6 per cent).

"These five trading partners comprise 71.6 per cent of Sarawak's total trade in 2021," he said.

-- BERNAMA