Malaysia will sustain trillion ringgit trade this yr, says Mukhriz

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is expected to sustain its trillion ringgit
trade this year despite the uncertainties in Europe and the sluggish
United States' economy.
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir said on Monday the target would be driven by the huge exports to China and fast-growing Middle East and India markets.
"Asia has been growing very fast, our trade with China is still very huge and we are maintaining our trade surplus with China.
"We
remain optimistic, our approach has been diversifying our market base.
I think demand for our goods is still there even though there is a drop
in exports in our electrical and electronics products," he told
reporters after the SME100 launch.
Mukhriz said the ministry was
monitoring exports to China as the largest exports to that country was
electrical and electronics products.
"So, when there is a slight
drop in the exports of electrical and electronics products, we are
looking to see if our trade with China was reducing compared to
previous years. So far, its going quite okay," he said.
Mukhriz
said while the drop in exports in the past two months was the main
concern, the overall picture is expected to deliver positive results.
Last year, Malaysia's trade clinched RM1.26 trillion.
On
the launch of SME100, Mukhriz said to date, the small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) contributed to one third of Malaysia's gross
domestic product and constitutes about one-fifth ofl total exports.
"As such, the importance of the SME sector to our national economy cannot be under estimated.
"Even
during the current period of global economic uncertainty, the SME
sector continues to be a growth avenue that propels Malaysia forward,"
he added. - Bernama