Palm oil issue not affecting trade with EU, says Matrade

KUALA LUMPUR: The trade issue between Malaysia and the European Union (EU) over palm oil will not affect other forms of exports to the EU, says the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade).

Chief executive officer Datuk Wan Latiff Wan Musa said electrical and electronics (E&E) exports to the EU remained steady.

“The only export that is affected is palm oil while other sectors so far have not shown any negative effect,” he said at a briefing on the upcoming International Sourcing Programme (INSP) at SEMICON Southeast Asia.

According to Matrade’s data, trade with the EU in February decreased by 5.7% year-on-year to RM13.35bil or 10.9% of Malaysia’s total trade.

From the overall trade, compared with February last year, exports of E&E products increased by 4.9% valued at RM25.81bil, which constituted 38.8% of total exports.

“Among the top 10 EU markets which accounted for 89.7% of Malaysia’s total exports to the EU were Spain, which recorded an increase of 78.4%, Ireland (180.1%), Italy (28.2), Germany (1.1%), France (3.6%) and the Czech Republic (2.5%),” he said.

Wan Latiff added that Malaysia’s strength in the E&E sector, especially as the region’s top player, is expected to grow at a steady pace despite the global slowdown, with the adoption of smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0.

“I believe that we will be able to have a stronger footprint in the industry and the E&E sector will continue to play an important role in Malaysia’s economy. By 2020, the industry is expected to generate an additional gross national income of RM53.4bil and create 157,000 new jobs,” he said.

INSP at SEMICON Southeast Asia, themed “Think Smart Make Smart”, will be held at MITEC from May 7-9.

The event is expected to capture RM150mil worth of sales as it will be attended by buyers and 9,000 delegates from China, South Korea, Singapore, the United States and United Arab Emirates. — Bernama

Source : TheStar