JANUARY – OCTOBER 2001

Sabah continued to register a favourable balance of trade during January – October 2001 with a surplus amounting to RM916.7 million. This surplus was however lower when compared to RM 1,511.6 million for the same period last year, a decrease of RM594.9 million or 39.4%. The lower surplus were attributed to the substantial decline in the exports of down stream wood based industries namely sawn timber (-RM303.7 million) and veneer sheets (-RM199.2 million) while higher imports was registered in particular manufactured goods (+RM142.9 million) during the review periods.

 

2. Exports

Sabah recorded export receipts amounting to RM10,366.1 million during the first ten months this year as against RM10,860.6 million for the same period last year, a decline of RM494.5 million or 4.6 %. Sabah’s major export commodities during the current review period were crude petroleum, palm oil, plywood, sawn timber, palm kernel oil, methanol and uncoated printing and writing paper which together accounted for RM7,730.3 million or 74.6% of total exports.

Crude petroleum retained its position as the leading revenue earner during the current review period, with a higher revenue amounting to RM2,862.0 million as against RM2,909.8 million during the review periods. This decrease was resulted from the higher volume exported from 3,614 thousand tonnes to 3,808 thousand tonnes (+194 thousand tonnes). This increase was however partially offset by the lower f.o.b export price from RM805.2 per tonne to RM751.6 per tonne (-RM53.6 per tonne) during the current review period. Peninsular Malaysia, the Republic of Korea and India together imported about 70% of Sabah’s crude petroleum during the current review period.

Revenue from palm oil, Sabah’s second major export commodity amounted to RM2,588.3 million and contributed to a quarter or 25.0% of total export earnings during the first ten months of 2001 as against RM2,553.0 million of the previous period (+RM35.3 million). The decreased receipts were resulted from the higher volume exported by 781.3 thousand tonnes whilst the f.o.b export price plummeted by 24.5% from RM1,120.2 per tonne to RM845.7 per tonne during the review periods.The Republic of China (697.3 thousand tonnes), India (572.8 thousand tonnes),the Netherlands (514.1 thousand tonnes) and Pakistan (436.9 thousand tonnes) were the main buyers during the current review period.

Exports receipts from Plywood amounted to RM952.2 million as against RM964.3 million during the periods under review. The export volume rose by 111.9 thousand cubic metres to 907.1 thousand cubic metres while its f.o.b export price was down by RM162.8 per cubic metre to RM1,049.7 per cubic metre. The main importers for Sabah’s plywood during the current review period were Japan (269.6 thousand cubic metres), the U.S.A (150.7 thousand cubic metres), the Republic of Korea (149.9 thousand cubic metres) and Peninsular Malaysia (117.0 thousand cubic metres).

3. Imports

Total imports for Sabah during the first ten months of 2001 amounted to RM9,449.4 million as against RM9,348.9 million recorded for the same period last year. Machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials together amounted to RM5,641.0 million and accounted for 59.7% of total imports.

Machinery and transport equipment tops the list of Sabah’s import bill with value amounting to RM2,882.6 million or 30.5% of total imports. Road vehicles (RM1,084.50 million), machines for particular industries (RM426.6 million), general industrial machinery and equipment, n.e.s & machine parts n.e.s (RM408.8 million) and electrical machinery & appliances n.e.s (RM320.3 million) were the main component items imported. Peninsular Malaysia (RM1,909.0 million), the U.S.A (RM317.5 million), Japan (RM255.7 million) and the European Union (RM194.6 million) were the main suppliers of machinery and transport equipment to Sabah.

Imports of manufactured goods valued at RM1,412.2 million accounted for 14.9% of total imports during January-October 2001. Iron and steel (RM389.8 million), manufactures of metals n.e.s (RM329.4 million), non-metallic mineral manufactures (RM190.3 million) and rubber manufacture (RM161.7 million) were the main goods imported. Peninsular Malaysia alone supplies about 60% or RM841.0 million of total imports of manufactured goods into Sabah.

The import bill for mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials during the first ten months of 2001 amounted to RM1,346.2 million or 14.2% of total imports. Petroleum, petroleum products & related materials was the single major item which amounted to RM1,271.0 million. Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Sarawak were the major suppliers of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials to Sabah during the current review period.

4. Direction of Trade

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

(Sabah Branch), Kota Kinabalu

7 December, 2001.