{
  "id": 2074254,
  "title": "Malaysia catat rekod perdagangan RM364.74 bilion pada Julai",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/malaysia-catat-rekod-perdagangan-rm364-74-bilion-pada-julai-2074254",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-20T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/08/20/malaysia-catat-rekod-perdagangan-rm364-74-bilion-pada-julai"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Malaysia has set a new record for trade by recording a monthly surplus of RM364.74 billion in July, marking a 37.3% increase compared to the same period in 2025. The Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) announced that exports rose by 38% to RM193.6 billion, while imports increased by 36.4% to RM171.14 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM22.46 billion. July marked Malaysia's 75th consecutive month of recording a trade surplus since May 2020. The ministry attributed the growth in exports to increases in the manufacturing, agricultural, and fishing sectors. Electronics and electrical products (E&E) remained the main contributor to exports, with their value up by RM32 billion compared to July 2025, driven by strong demand for semiconductors and other high-value items. The increase in iron and steel scrap exports, along with palm oil and palm-based agriculture products, also contributed to the overall trade growth. Trade with China accounted for 18.2% of Malaysia's trade in July, followed by the United States (12.7%) and Taiwan (8.2%). In terms of economic blocs, trade with ASEAN contributed 26.8% to the total, while the European Union (EU) contributed 7%. Overall, ASEAN accounted for 72.8% of Malaysia's trade in the last month. The ministry also announced that Malaysia's trade surpassed RM2 trillion this year, two months earlier than in 2025. As of July, trade stood at RM2.16 trillion, with exports reaching RM1 trillion earlier than the same period last year. Imports exceeded RM170.5 billion, more than double the previous year's same period. MITI stated that the cumulative value of trade, exports, imports, and trade surplus for the period from January to July recorded the highest ever. Strong performance in trade indicates that Malaysia's trade growth continues to advance throughout the first seven months of the year.",
  "summary": "Miti berkata jumlah perdagangan setakat tahun ini sudah melepasi RM2 trilion, dua bulan lebih awal berbanding 2025.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Malaysia catat rekod perdagangan RM364.74 bilion pada Julai",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/malaysia-catat-rekod-perdagangan-rm364-74-bilion-pada-julai",
        "published": "2026-08-20T04:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}