A general view of Kuala Lumpur on September 24, 2023. Malaysia is expected to record strong export figures in the second quarter of 2024 despite consensus projection of sluggish external markets this year. — Picture by Yusof Mat IsaKUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — Malaysia is expected to record strong export figures in the second quarter of 2024 despite consensus projection of sluggish external markets this year.
“However, higher import growth, while it indicates the strength of our domestic demand, also suggests that the country is increasingly relying on foreign sources to meet local demand,” he told Bernama. “There is an urgent need to promote investments for the country to improve and reduce our dependency on foreign sources for production input,” he added.Total exports and total imports are essential components for the estimation of a country’s GDP.
For the first quarter of this year, exports rose by 2.2 per cent y-o-y to RM362.41 billion while imports rose 13.1 per cent y-o-y to RM328.19 billion.