KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 ― Export and import unit value indices rose 0.8 per cent to 116.5 points and 0.4 per cent to 117.7 points respectively in December 2019 compared to November 2019, the Department of Statistics Malaysia revealed today.
Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin attributed the growth of the export unit value index of 0.8 per cent mainly to the increase in the index of animal & vegetable oils & fats at 10.8 per cent, followed by mineral fuels at 2.6 per cent and inedible crude materials at 0.2 per cent.
Mohd Uzir said the export volume index rose 6.0 per cent to 139.4 points.
“The rise was led by the increase in the index of machinery & transport equipment (12.2 per cent), mineral fuels (10.5 per cent) and inedible crude materials (7.9 per cent).
“In seasonally adjusted terms, the export volume index expanded 7.8 per cent to 137.0 points,” he said in a statement today, adding that export unit value and volume indices increased 0.8 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively compared to 2018.
Meanwhile, he said the rise in the import unit value index by 0.4 per cent was due to the growth in the indices of animal and vegetable oils and fats, mineral fuels and food at 7.2 per cent, 3.7 per cent and food at 0.3 per cent respectively.
However, Mohd Uzir said, the import volume index decreased 1.0 per cent to 142.6 points, attributable to the decline in the index of mineral fuels at 3.2 per cent, followed by machinery & transport equipment at 2.9 per cent and inedible crude materials at 2.5 per cent.
“In seasonally adjusted terms, the import volume index in December 2019 registered a marginal decline of 0.1 per cent to 140.6 points,” he added.
He elaborated that on a year-on-year basis, import unit value and volume indices increased 0.02 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.
The department also reported that Malaysia’s terms of trade expanded 0.4 per cent to 99.0 points compared with November 2019.
On a year-on-year basis, Malaysia’s terms of trade also registered a rise of 0.8 per cent from 98.2 points, it said. ― Bernama
