Trillion ringgit trade seen this year on China, India exports

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is expected to sustain its trillion ringgit
trade this year despite the uncertainties in Europe and the sluggish US
economy, said Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir.
The
target would be driven by the huge exports to China and fast-growing
Middle East and India markets, he told reporters after the SME100
launch.
“Asia has been growing very fast and our trade with China is still huge; and we are maintaining our trade surplus with China.
“We remain optimistic, our approach has been to diversify 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 said.
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 with 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 was 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 constituted about one-fifth of 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