Malaysia's Trade August 2025

According to data from Malaysia’s Department of Statistics, Malaysia’s international trade in the first eight months of 2025 recorded the following trend with exports rising by 3.9 per cent and imports increasing by 3.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Exports in August expanded by 1.9 per cent year-on-year, supported by higher sales in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors, while mining exports declined. Imports, by contrast, fell by 5.9 per cent, resulting in a monthly trade surplus that marked the largest since March.

Singapore, China, and the European Union remained Malaysia’s key export destinations, registering growth of 2.7 per cent, 10.4 per cent, and 9.7 per cent, respectively. Exports to the United States, however, fell by 16.7 per cent, reflecting the impact of new U.S. tariffs on Malaysian goods.

In its latest economic assessment, Bank Negara Malaysia maintained its GDP growth forecast for 2025 in the range of 4 to 5 per cent, pointing to external trade risks but also resilience in domestic demand.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a political and economic union, has a population of 667 million and a territory of 4.5 million km². It is currently the third-largest economy in Asia-Pacific and the fifth-largest in the world. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has a combined GDP of USD 4.2 trillion, according to estimates for 2024.