KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 ― Malaysia’s manufacturing sales plunged 33.0 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM75.8 billion in April 2020 compared to RM113.1 billion reported a year ago, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said month-on-month, the sector’s sales value went down by 31.2 per cent (RM34.3 billion), while in seasonally adjusted terms, the sales value registered a decrease of 29.5 per cent.

"The year-on-year decline in sales value in April 2020 was due to the decrease in transport equipment and other manufactures products (-69.5 per cent), non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (-67.5 per cent) and electrical and electronic products (-39.6 per cent),” he said in a statement today.

Mohd Uzir attributed the decline to the closure of business operations during the Movement Control Order due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under normal conditions, the sales value of the manufacturing sector would have grown by an estimated 6.9 per cent, he said.

He added that the non-essential services industry also registered a significant decline in growth, as the capacity utilisation of factories fell below 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, the total number of employees engaged in the manufacturing sector in April 2020 decreased by 3.2 per cent y-o-y to 2,169,473 persons.

The report also stated that salaries and wages paid in April 2020 amounted to RM6.8 billion, a decrease of 6.2 per cent y-o-y or RM448.7 million.

The sales value per employee also declined by 30.8 per cent y-o-y to RM34,918, while the average salaries and wages per employee was RM3,146 during the month. ― Bernama