JANUARY – DECEMBER 2001

Sabah continued to register a favourable balance of trade for the year 2001 with a surplus amounting to RM1,123.4 million as against RM1,951.7 million for the same period last year, a decrease of RM828.3 million or 42.4%. This lower surplus was attributed to higher imports by RM152.6 million vis-a-vis the decline in export receipts by RM675.7 million between the review periods. Higher imports was noted in the imports of manufactured goods while decreases in the exports of sawn timber and crude petroleum were significant.

2. Exports

Sabah recorded export receipts amounting to RM12,545.4 million during January-December 2001 as against RM13,221.1 million for the same period last year, a 5.1% decline of RM675.7 million. Sabah’s major export commodities during the current review period were palm oil, crude petroleum, plywood, sawn timber, palm kernel oil, methanol, hot briquetted iron, uncoated printing and writing paper and laminated woods which together accounted for RM9,771.3 million or 77.9% of total exports.

Revenue from Palm oil, Sabah’s leading major export commodity amounted to RM3,325.9 million and contributed to more than one quarter or 26.5% of total export earnings during the year 2001. This represents a 10.1 % increase as against RM3,019.8 million of the previous period (+ RM306.2 million). The higher receipts were attributed to the higher volume exported by 958.8 thousand tonnes. This increase was however, partly offset by the declining f.o.b export price from RM1,069.1 per tonne to RM879.1 per tonne. The People’s Republic of China (924.7 thousand tonnes), India (688.0 thousand tonnes), the Netherlands (610.6 thousand tonnes), Pakistan (545.7 thousand tonnes) and the Republic of Korea (195.5 thousand tonnes) were the main buyers during the current review period.

Crude petroleum was the second important revenue earner during the year 2001, registered revenue amounting to RM3,319.1 million as against RM3,673.7 million during the two review periods. This decrease in revenue was resulted from the lower f.o.b export price which amounted to RM717.0 per tonne as against RM824.1 per tonne. (-RM107.1 per tonne) while the volume exported stood at 4,629 thousand tonnes during the current review period. The Republic of Korea, India and Peninsular Malaysia together imported about 72.0% of Sabah’s crude petroleum during the current review period.

Plywood collected lower revenue amounting to RM1,136.2 million as against RM1,219.5 million during the periods under review, a decline of RM83.3 million or 6.8 %. This was jointly attributed to the lower f.o.b export price by RM158.8 per cubic metre to RM1,035.9 per cubic metres. The main importers for Sabah’s plywood during the year 2001 were Japan (307.8 thousand cubic metres), the U.S.A. (191.6 thousand cubic metres), the Republic of Korea (187.6 thousand cubic metres) and Peninsular Malaysia (149.2 thousand cubic metres).

3. Imports

Sabah’s imports bill registered a marginal 1.4% increase from RM11,269.4 million for the year 2000 to RM11,422.0 million for the current review period, an additional RM152.6 million mainly on the higher expenditure on manufactured goods (+RM175.0 million) whilst mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials recorded a lower expenditure by RM285.9 million. Imports of machinery & transport equipment, manufactured goods and mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials together amounted to RM6,695.7 million and accounted for 58.6% of total imports during the current review period.

Machinery and transport equipment was Sabah’s main import item with expenditure amounting to RM3,470.8 million or 30.4% of total imports bill. Road vehicles (RM1,310.1 million), machines for particular industries (RM520.9 million), general industrial machinery and equipment, n.e.s & machine parts n.e.s (RM489.2 million) and electrical machinery & appliances n.e.s (RM378.0 million) were the main component items imported. Peninsular Malaysia (RM2,298.2 million), the U.S.A (RM395.7 million), Japan (RM294.3 million) and the European Union (RM226.9 million) were the main suppliers of machinery and transport equipment to Sabah.

The imports of manufactured goods worth RM1,699.4 million accounts for 14.9% of total imports during the current review period. Iron and steel (RM486.9 million), manufactures of metals n.e.s. ( RM385.5 million), non-metallic mineral manufactures (RM234.4 million) and rubber manufactures (RM190.7 million) were the main constituent items imported. Peninsular Malaysia alone supplied almost 60 % of manufactured goods imported.

Sabah imported RM1,525.5 million worth of mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials during the current review period which accounted for 13.4% of total imports. Petroleum products was the major component item imported and Peninsular Malaysia (RM652.9 million), Singapore (RM422.7 million) and Sarawak (RM413.5 million) together supplied 97.6% of total imports of mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials into Sabah.

4. Direction of Trade

Sabah’s major trading partners during the year 2001 were Peninsular Malaysia, ASEAN, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Sarawak, the People’s Republic of China, the European Union, the U.S.A and Taiwan in that order of importance.

Department of Statistics Malaysia,

(Sabah Branch), Kota Kinabalu

8 February 2002.