Record Exports In October Put Malaysia On Right Track - Finance Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- The record-high October exports have put Malaysia on the right track under the government's three-year fiscal consolidation plan, says Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. In a statement today, the minister said the resurgent growth in exports to RM96.4 billion and a record trade surplus of RM16.3 billion signalled that the government was on target towards getting the economy back on track. "What is encouraging is that exports of our primary commodities, especially palm oil and natural rubber which had been severely hit by falling prices and falling demand, recorded increases in October 2018 from the previous month," he said. According to Malaysia external trade statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia Wednesday, on a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, exports of palm oil and palm oil-based products increased 10.8 per cent from RM5.6 billion, while exports of natural rubber recorded a growth of 2.7 per cent m-o-m from RM306.5 million. However, Lim warned that the good news on the trade front must be treated with caution. "(This is) because the global trade and economy is still fragile despite the 90-day truce declared in the trade war between the United States and China," he added. -- BERNAMA