Sabah records more than RM100bil trade 3 years in a row
PETALING JAYA : Sabah has once again surpassed the RM100 billion trade mark in 2024, marking the third consecutive year the state has achieved this milestone despite softer export figures.
The statistics department said Sabah recorded RM107.8 billion in total trade last year, a 2.7% increase from 2023.
However, exports slipped by 2.3% to RM61.3 billion for 2024, while imports jumped by 10.2% to RM46.4 billion.
'The higher growth in imports compared to exports resulted in a 27.9% decline in the trade balance, with a lower trade surplus of RM14.9 billion in 2024,' it said in a statement.
Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the major commodities contributing to Sabah's exports in 2024 were crude petroleum with RM21.3 billion, palm oil (RM17.3 billion) and liquefied natural gas (RM4.6 billion), totalling RM43.2 billion or 70.4%.
'As for imports, the main contributors were refined petroleum products at RM5.2 billion, manufactured fertilisers (RM1 billion), and palm oil-based oleochemicals (RM266 million),' he said.
While international exports from Sabah rose marginally by 0.9%, inter-regional exports to Peninsular Malaysia dropped by 7.2%, dragged down by a decline in shipments of crude petroleum, palm oil, and oleochemicals.
Peninsular Malaysia remained Sabah's top trading partner, contributing nearly half (46.8%) of its total trade, while China, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and India collectively contributed 26.8% at the international level.
The department also announced the annual external trade statistics for all states and federal territories, detailing each state's international trade values with other countries from 2019 to 2024.
For Sabah, the international trade values used excluded trade between the state with Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.
'For 2024, the total trade of Sabah based on these values recorded a 3.6% growth to RM43 billion from RM41.5 billion in 2023. This total trade was contributed by exports valued at RM32.1 billion and imports of RM10.9 billion.
'Sabah's exports increased by 3.2% to RM32.1 billion in 2024 compared to RM31.1 billion in 2023,' it said.
Imports in 2024 amounted to RM10.9 billion, marking a 5% increase over the previous year. The mentioned values differ from the report published on June 16 following updates made based on the latest data.
Last week, Sabah's industrial development minister Phoong Jin Zhe, said the state's 'unusually high' trade figure for 2023 was likely driven by a single transaction and does not reflect the state's actual economic performance.
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