KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 ― Malaysia saw the value of wholesale and retail trade sales declined 2.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM111.7 billion in January 2021, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the wholesale and retail trade sales shrank 3.3 per cent in January 2021 following the implementation of the movement control order (MCO 2.0) in six states beginning January 13.

Commenting on the y-o-y performance, Mohd Uzir said the fall was mainly due to the motor vehicles segment which contracted 13.8 per cent y-o-y to RM10.6 billion.

"Similarly, retail trade fell 2.5 per cent y-o-y to RM45.6 billion, while wholesale trade also eased 0.4 per cent y-o-y to RM55.4 billion,” he said in a statement.

On the retail trade performance, Mohd Uzir said the decrease was due to weaker sales of non-essential products, namely specialised stores ( -7.0 per cent y-o-y), household goods (-4.6 per cent) as well as cultural and recreation goods (-5.1 per cent).

"However, retail sales of essential goods posted positive growth, led by non-specialised stores segment which grew 1.4 per cent y-o-y to RM16.6 billion and food, beverages and tobacco segment which rose 6.0 per cent to RM2.9 billion,” he said.

He added that retail trade not in stores, stalls or markets segment expanded 9.0 per cent to RM400 million, while retail sale via stalls and markets segment increased 5.6 per cent to RM100 million.

In terms of wholesale trade sub-sector, Mohd Uzir said the 0.4 per cent y-o-y fall in January 2021 was mainly due to other specialised wholesale which declined 4.9 per cent y-o-y.

"This was followed by wholesale of agricultural raw materials and live animals (-6.0 per cent y-o-y) and wholesale on a fee or contract basis which contracted 4.7 per cent y-o-y.

However, he pointed out that wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco grew 4.9 per cent y-o-y to RM10.7 billion, while wholesale of household goods rose 4.2 per cent y-o-y to RM11.6 billion.

"Similarly, wholesale of machinery, equipment and supplies also expanded 2.7 per cent y-o-y to RM4.8 billion,” he said.

In terms of sub-sector performance, Mohd Uzir said motor vehicles segment shed 13.8 per cent y-o-y, weighed down by weaker motor vehicles sales which slid 17.6 per cent y-o-y to RM5.3 billion in January.

"This was followed by the motor vehicles parts and accessories segment which slipped 9.3 per cent y-o-y to RM2.9 billion, while maintenance and repair of motor vehicles segment went down 9.5 per cent y-o-y to RM1.5 billion,” he said.

Mohd Uzir added that during the same period, sales, maintenance and repair of motorcycles also recorded a decline of 11.1 per cent to RM900 million.

On the m-o-m performance of the wholesale and retail trade sales, Mohd Uzir said the 3.3 per cent fall in January 2021 was mainly pulled down by motor vehicles segment which slumped 20.5 per cent.

Similarly, he said retail trade also decreased 2.6 per cent m-o-m, but wholesale trade inched up 0.2 per cent m-o-m.

In terms of volume index, Mohd Uzir said wholesale and retail trade dwindled 2.9 per cent y-o-y, pressured by the motor vehicles segment which decreased 13.1 per cent.

"This was followed by retail and wholesale trade which eased 3.2 per cent y-o-y and 0.1 per cent y-o-y, respectively,” he said.

However, he pointed out that online retail sales index, which portrays e-commerce activity, surged by a record 28.7 per cent y-o-y in January 2021.

As for seasonal adjusted volume index, Mohd Uzir said it trimmed 2.0 per cent m-o-m, but seasonally adjusted retail sales index ticked up 0.5 per cent against the previous month. ― Bernama