Malaysia's trade performance maintained its positive momentum in February 2025, recording a 5.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth to reach RM223.89 billion. According to the latest report from the Ministry of Investment and International Trade, exports rose 6.2% to RM118.26 billion while imports increased by 5.5% to RM105.64 billion.

Notably, this marked the 14th consecutive month of y-o-y trade expansion and the fifth consecutive month of export growth. Meanwhile, trade surplus rebounded to RM12.62 billion, marking the 58th consecutive month of surplus since May 2020. Trade, exports and imports also delivered the highest monthly value in history for the month of February.

The increase in exports was primarily driven by higher demand for manufactured goods (85.7% of total exports) which expanded by 8.8% y-o-y to RM101.3 billion. The increase was attributed mainly to robust exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products, which increased more than RM7 billion in value. Agriculture goods, particularly palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products, also helped increase exports. In terms of markets, exports to major trading partners namely ASEAN, the United States (US), the European Union (EU) and Taiwan China recorded expansion, largely due to the rising demand for E&E products, especially semiconductor devices and integrated circuits (ICs). This increase was in alignment with the projected 2025 growth of 11.2% for global semiconductor sales by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). Exports to

Free Trade Agreement (FTA) markets including Mexico and Canada have also increased y-o-y, driven by the continued demand for E&E products from these countries.

For the first two months of 2025, the country's trade performance continued its upward trajectory, rising 4.4% to RM465.86 billion compared to the corresponding period in

Exports increased by 3.1% to RM241.07 billion while imports grew by 5.9% to RM224.79 billion, making up a trade surplus of RM16.28 billion. Trade, exports and imports registered the highest values ever for the period.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has projected 3.0% growth in 2025 world trade volume, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has anticipated a 3.2% increase.