SABAH TRADE SUMMARY
JANUARY - MARCH 2002
Sabah continued to register a favourable balance of trade during the first quarter of 2002 with a surplus amounting to RM479.8 million. This surplus was however 35.6% lower (-RM264.7 million) when compared to RM744.5 million for the same period last year. The lower surplus was attributed to the substantial decline in the exports of crude petroleum, methanol and sawn timber during the period under review.
Sabah recorded export receipts amounting to RM3,115.9 million during the first quarter of this year as against RM3,318.1 million for the same period last year, a decline of RM202.2 million or 6.1%. Sabah’s major export commodities during the current review period were palm oil, crude petroleum, plywood, palm kernel oil, sawn timber, fresh & frozen prawns and uncoated printing & writing paper which together accounted for RM2,261.0 million or 72.6% of total exports.
Palm oil retained its position as Sabah’s leading export commodity with receipts amounting to RM985.9 million and contributed to almost one-third of total export earnings during the first three months of this year as against RM835.5 million of the previous period (+ RM 150.3million). The increased receipts were resulted from the better f.o.b export price which hiked by 47.1% from RM769.0 per tonne to RM1,131.1 per tonne while the export volume plummeted by 217.7 thousand tonnes during the review periods. The Republic of China (223.8 thousand tonnes), Pakistan (143.5 thousand tonnes) and the Netherlands (103.7 tonnes) were the main buyers during the current review period.
Crude petroleum was the second important export earner during the current review period, with a revenue amounting to RM660.3 million as against RM880.0 million during the review periods. This decline was resulted from the lower f.o.b export unit value from RM777.8 per tonne to RM549.1 per tonne (-RM228.7 per tonnes) despite the higher export volume from 1,132 thousand tonnes to 1,203 thousand tonnes (+ 71 thousand tonnes). India (376.9 thousand tonnes), the Republic of Korea (321.4 thousand tonnes) and Peninsular Malaysia (283.8 thousand tonnes) together imported about 82% of Sabah’s crude petroleum during the current review period.
Exports receipts from Plywood amounted to RM239.3 million as against RM 274.0 million during the periods under review. The lower export receipts was jointly attributed to the lower export volume by 1.4 thousand cubic metres to 245.7 thousand cubic metres coupled with the lower f.o.b export price which deteriorated by RM135.1 per cubic metre to RM973.8 per cubic metre for the review periods. The major importers of Sabah’s plywood during the current review period were Japan (54.2 thousand cubic metres), the U.S.A (46.1 thousand cubic metres), Peninsular Malaysia (36.7 thousand cubic metres) and the Republic of Korea (34.1 thousand cubic metres)
Sabah’s imported a total to RM2,636.1 million worth of goods during the first quarter of 2002, representing a marginal 2.4% increase as against RM2,573.6 million recorded for the same period last year. Machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods and chemicals & related materials together amounted to RM1,582.9 million and accounted for 60.0% of total imports.
Machinery and transport equipment tops the list of Sabah’s import bill with value amounting to RM860.5 million or 32.6% of total imports. Road vehicles (RM359.0 million), machines for particular industries (RM124.4 million), general industrial machinery and equipment, n.e.s & machine parts n.e.s (RM107.7 million) and electrical machinery & appliances n.e.s. (RM81.4 million) were the main component items imported. Peninsular Malaysia (RM594.5 million), the U.S.A (RM90.1 million), the European Union (RM61.1 million) and Japan (RM52.0 million) were the main suppliers of machinery and transport equipment to Sabah.
Imports of manufactured goods valued at RM405.0 million accounted for 15.4% of total imports during the current review period. Iron and steel (RM128.1 million), manufactures of metals n.e.s (RM93.8 million), non-metallic mineral manufactures (RM58.4 million) and rubber manufacture (RM44.7 million) were the main goods imported. Peninsular Malaysia alone supplies more than 60% or RM244.4 million of total imports of manufactured goods into Sabah.
The import bill for chemicals and related materials during the first quarter of 2002 amounted to RM317.4 million or 12.0% of total imports. Manufactured fertilizers, misc. chemicals & products together amounted to RM183.8 million. Peninsular Malaysia (RM162.7million) was the major supplier of this item to Sabah during the current review period.
4. Direction of Trade
4.1 Sabah’s major trading partners during the first three months of 2002 were Peninsular Malaysia, ASEAN, Sarawak, the People’s Republic of China, the European Union, India , the Republic of Korea, Japan, the U.S.A and Taiwan in that order of importance.
Department of Statistics Malaysia,
(Sabah Branch), Kota Kinabalu
8 May 2002.
SABAH
Table 1- EXPORTS OF MAJOR COMMODITES
(RM MILLION)
Quantity |
Value |
||||||
Unit of |
January-March |
Changes in |
January-March |
Changes in |
|||
Major Commodities |
Quantity |
2001 |
2002 |
Quantity |
2001 |
2002 |
Value |
| 1. Palm Oil ( Crude &Processed) | Tonnes |
1,086,570 |
868,900 |
-217,670 |
835.5 |
985.9 |
150.3 |
| 2. Petroleum (Crude) | ‘000Tonnes |
1,132 |
1,203 |
71 |
880.0 |
660.3 |
-219.7 |
| 3. Plywood | Cu Metres |
247,089 |
245,718 |
-1,371 |
274.0 |
239.3 |
-34.7 |
| 4. Palm Kernel Oil | Tonnes |
92,556 |
114,427 |
21,871 |
96.8 |
126.0 |
29.2 |
| 5. Sawn Timber ( Incl. conifer) | ‘000 Cu Metres |
146 |
112 |
-34 |
167.1 |
118.1 |
-49.0 |
| 6. Prawns,fresh,frozen | Tonnes |
2,213 |
2,754 |
541 |
58.5 |
65.9 |
7.4 |
|
Tonnes |
35,797 |
31,801 |
-3,996 |
85.4 |
65.5 |
-20.0 |
| 8. Hot Briquetted Iron | Tonnes |
134,129 |
114,994 |
-19,135 |
52.8 |
43.9 |
-8.8 |
| 9. Laminated Wood | Cu. Metres | 40,658 |
31,195 |
-9,463 |
44.7 |
30.6 |
-14.1 |
| 10. Veneer Sheets | Cu. Metres |
48,511 |
30,841 |
-17,670 |
47.0 |
29.5 |
-17.5 |
| 11. Palm Kernel Cake | Cu. Metres |
108,937 |
110,560 |
1,623 |
11.7 |
20.8 |
9.1 |
| 12. Cocoa Beans (Raw &
Roasted) 13. Moulded Woods 14. Methanol |
Tonnes Tonnes Tonnes |
7,517 9,834 136,436 |
4,249 8,390 34,583 |
-3,268 -1,444 -101,853 |
24.4 19.2 90.0 |
18.2 16.9 13.0 |
-6.2 -2.3 -77.0 |
| 15. Rubber | Tonnes | 4,456 |
5,653 |
1,197 |
10.7 |
11.9 |
1.3 |
| Total Selected Major Exports | 2,697.9 |
2,445.8 |
-252.2 |
||||
| Other Exports | 620.2 |
670.1 |
49.9 |
||||
| Total Exports | 3,318.1 |
3,115.9 |
-202.2 |
||||
Notes: Figures may not add up to totals due to rounding.
SABAH
Table 2 - IMPORTS BY COMMODTY SECTIONS (RM MILLION)
(RM Million)
January-March |
||||||
S.I.T.C. Commodity Sections |
2001 |
2002 |
Changes in |
% Change Over |
||
Value |
% of total |
Value |
% of total |
Value |
Corresponding Year |
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5)=(3)-(1) |
(6)=(5)/(1)x100 |
|
| 0. Food | 337.0 |
13.1 |
311.7 |
11.8 |
-25.3 |
-7.5 |
| 1. Beverages & tobacco | 108.7 |
4.2 |
91.4 |
3.5 |
-17.3 |
-15.9 |
| 2. Crude materials, inedible except fuels | 82.5 |
3.2 |
77.4 |
2.9 |
-5.1 |
-6.1 |
| 3. Mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials |
429.8 |
16.7 |
244.1 |
9.3 |
-185.7 |
-43.2 |
| 4. Animal & vegetable oils & fats | 3.5 |
0.1 |
24.1 |
0.9 |
20.6 |
592.2 |
| 5. Chemicals & related products | 299.0 |
11.6 |
317.4 |
12.0 |
18.5 |
6.2 |
| 6. Manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials |
346.2 |
13.5 |
405.0 |
15.4 |
58.8 |
17.0 |
| 7. Machinery & transport equipment | 760.1 |
29.5 |
860.5 |
32.6 |
100.4 |
13.2 |
| 8. Misc. manufactured articles | 172.8 |
6.7 |
242.8 |
9.2 |
70.0 |
40.5 |
| 9. Misc. transactions & commodities | 34.2 |
1.3 |
61.8 |
2.3 |
27.6 |
80.6 |
TOTAL IMPORTS |
2,573.6 |
100.0 |
2,636.1 |
100.0 |
62.5 |
2.4 |
Note : Figures may not add up to totals due to rounding.
SABAH
TABLE 3 - DIRECTION OF TRADE
(RM MILLION)
Imports |
Exports |
|||||||
January-March |
January-March |
|||||||
Country/ |
2001 |
2002 |
2001 |
2002 |
||||
Country Groupings |
Value |
% of total |
Value |
% of total |
Value |
% of total |
Value |
% of total |
| 1. Rest of Malaysia : | ||||||||
| - Peninsular Malaysia | 1,458.2 |
56.7 |
1,568.1 |
59.5 |
290.3 |
8.7 |
318.7 |
10.2 |
| - Sarawak | 149.2 |
5.8 |
82.8 |
3.1 |
296.2 |
8.9 |
332.6 |
10.7 |
| 2. ASEAN : | ||||||||
| - Brunei Darussalam | 1.2 |
x |
0.9 |
x |
21.5 |
51.7 |
20.8 |
0.7 |
| - Cambodia | 0.7 |
- |
0.2 |
- |
0.5 |
x |
0.0 |
- |
| - Indonesia, Rep. Of | 72.0 |
2.8 |
69.8 |
2.6 |
44.2 |
1.3 |
117.2 |
3.8 |
| - Laos, People’s Dem. Rep. of | - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
0.1 |
x |
| - Myanmar, Union of | 0.1 |
x |
0.5 |
x |
1.5 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
x |
| - Philippines | 8.2 |
x |
7.1 |
x |
28.5 |
0.9 |
26.9 |
0.9 |
| - Singapore, Rep. Of | 172.8 |
6.7 |
126.6 |
4.8 |
70.5 |
2.1 |
90.0 |
2.9 |
| - Thailand | 39.5 |
1.5 |
32.0 |
1.2 |
88.9 |
2.7 |
36.5 |
1.2 |
| - Vietnam, Soc. Rep. Of | 13.9 |
0.5 |
8.5 |
0.3 |
18.2 |
0.5 |
13.3 |
0.4 |
Total ASEAN |
308.5 |
12.0 |
245.6 |
9.3 |
273.6 |
8.2 |
305.2 |
9.8 |
| 3. Japan | 127.8 |
5.0 |
117.8 |
4.5 |
293.5 |
8.8 |
206.7 |
6.6 |
| 4. China, People’s Rep. Of | 83.8 |
3.3 |
101.0 |
3.8 |
158.3 |
4.8 |
307.2 |
9.9 |
| 5. Taiwan | 43.5 |
1.7 |
39.1 |
1.5 |
73.1 |
2.2 |
66.9 |
2.1 |
| 6. Korea, Rep. of | 22.0 |
0.9 |
14.2 |
0.5 |
499.4 |
15.1 |
314.8 |
10.1 |
| 7. India | 20.8 |
0.8 |
17.6 |
0.7 |
381.7 |
11.5 |
316.7 |
10.2 |
| 8. European Union | 104.9 |
4.1 |
131.2 |
5.0 |
279.8 |
8.4 |
234.5 |
7.5 |
| 9. U.S.A. | 129.4 |
5.0 |
172.8 |
6.6 |
187.6 |
5.7 |
97.3 |
3.1 |
| 10. Other Countries | 125.5 |
4.9 |
145.7 |
5.5 |
584.6 |
17.6 |
615.3 |
19.7 |
Total |
2,573.6 |
100.0 |
2,636.0 |
100.0 |
3,318.1 |
100.0 |
3,115.9 |
100.00 |
Note: Figures may not add up to totals due to rounding. x - Less than 0.05% + - Less than RM0.05 Million