Stronger Ringgit Has Not Affected Trade, Helps To Lower Production Costs - MITI

KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 (Bernama) -- The strengthening of the ringgit has not affected the country's trade performance. Instead, it has helped to make Malaysia's exports more price-competitive in international markets, according to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).

"A stronger ringgit reduces import costs, which in turn lowers production costs," the ministry said in a written reply in parliament today.

MITI was responding to a question from Datuk Dr Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan) on the extent to which the stronger ringgit has affected the competitiveness of Malaysia's exports and the mitigation measures being undertaken by the government to support the export sector.

Malaysia's trade performance for the January-May 2026 period increased 18.3% to RM1.455 trillion compared with the same period last year. During the same period, exports grew by 24.3% to RM793.84 billion, while the trade surplus nearly tripled, rising 182.9% to RM132.77 billion compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.

Beyond trade policies, MITI said another factor contributing to the country's stronger export performance is the coordination of export promotion efforts across ministries through the Export Coordination Committee, which is chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government. "The government will continue to strengthen the country's export competitiveness through pragmatic and forward-looking approaches, with the active participation of industry players," the ministry added.

Among the mitigation measures undertaken by the government are the implementation of targeted strategic initiatives, the diversification of Malaysia's export destinations to non-traditional markets such as Central Asia, and the exploration of new free trade agreement (FTA) partners.

-- BERNAMA