19/1/2023 (Xinhua) - Malaysia's exports were down in September amid slower global demand, uncertainties in commodity prices and high base effect last year, official statement said Thursday.

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry said in a statement that the exports fell 13.7 percent year-on-year to 124.47 billion ringgit (26.14 billion U.S. dollars) last month.

The exports of manufactured goods, which represented 86.5 percent of total exports, dipped by 11.8 percent year-on-year as a result of lower demand for petroleum products, electrical and electronic products as well as chemicals and chemical products.

Exports of agriculture goods, which accounted for a 6.5-percent share, decreased by 23.1 percent following lower exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products that were affected significantly by weaker export prices of palm oil.

Exports of mining goods, which made up of 6.4 percent share, also eased by 28 percent year-on-year, attributed to lesser exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude petroleum.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's imports in September edged down by 11.1 percent year-on-year to 99.95 billion ringgit.

Subsequently, Malaysia's total trade for the month was lower by 12.6 percent to 224.43 billion ringgit.

The trade surplus in September also contracted by 23 percent year-on-year to 24.52 billion ringgit.

As for the third quarter of 2023, the total trade in Malaysia declined by 15.7 percent year-on-year to 653.57 ringgit.

Its exports fell 15.2 percent to 356.31 billion ringgit, while imports decreased by 16.3 percent to 297.26 billion ringgit.

For the period of January to September 2023, Malaysia's trade contracted by 8.6 percent to 1.94 trillion ringgit as compared to the same period of last year.

Malaysia's exports for the period declined by 8.4 percent to 1.06 trillion ringgit while imports edged down by 8.9 percent to 882.24 billion ringgit. (1 ringgit equals 0.21 U.S. dollar)

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