KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 — Malaysia’s trade performance with the United States increased by 30 per cent to RM325.2 billion last year despite uncertainties in the global trading landscape, according to the Statistics Department (DOSM).
Exports and imports grew by 23.3 per cent and 42.1 per cent to RM198.9 billion and RM126.3 billion, respectively, reflecting the increased demand for Malaysian exports to the US last year.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said electrical and electronic (E&E) products remained the main pillar of Malaysia and the US trade, accounting for 60.4 per cent of total export value in 2024.
“Semiconductors were the largest contributor (46.8 per cent), followed by telecommunication equipment, sound recording and reproducing equipment (19.4 per cent), electrical machinery, apparatus, appliances and parts (17.0 per cent) and office machines and automatic data processing equipment (16.9 per cent),” he said in the Malaysia Trade Statistics Review 2025 (MTSR).
MTSR analyses Malaysia’s trade performance with the US across five main product categories, particularly E&E, optical and scientific equipment, machinery, equipment and appliances, as well as rubber and wood.
Malaysia’s exports of optical and scientific equipment to the US reached the highest value at RM12.9 billion, an increase of 14.3 per cent in 2024.
Malaysia’s export contribution to the US was the highest compared to other countries, accounting for 21.8 per cent.
Uzir said that machinery, equipment and parts are among Malaysia’s top exports to the US last year, contributing 12.7 per cent of Malaysia’s total exports of these products. The value increased by 33.6 per cent to RM8.8 billion in 2024 from RM6.6 billion in 2023.
Meanwhile, he said rubber products show a strong upward trend in Malaysia’s main export position to the US, rising to RM7.4 billion last year, while wood products maintained a stable export performance to the US, rebounding to RM6.0 billion in 2024.
For the first time, Malaysia ranked as number one globally in the biennial Open Data Inventory (ODIN) 2024/25 report released by Open Data Watch (ODW), surpassing 197 other countries. The achievement marks a significant leap from its 67th position in the ODIN 2022/23 assessment.
