KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade sales rose by 8.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM117.2 billion in February this year, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Despite that, the month-on-month (m-o-m) for both the wholesale and retail trade sales shown a decline in their combined value. It dropped by 2.5% which is attributed to the 4.7% reduction in the wholesale trade sub-sector.
Chief statistician, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, said the improved y-o-y performance was due to the retail trade sub-sector that grew by 10.2% (RM4.5 billion) to RM48.8 billion.
“The retail trade sub-sector’s development was bolstered by a 15.9% (RM2.5 billion) increase in retail sales in non-specialised stores. This brings the value to RM18.3 billion.
“Similarly, other segments within this sub-sector also showed growth. This includes retail sales of automotive fuels (+18.1%); household goods retail sales (+9.8%); and retail sales in specialised stores (+5.6%),” he explained.
Meanwhile, the retail sales of F&B and tobacco grew by 8.6% while sales of cultural and recreational products rose by 5.7%. The retail sales not in stores, stalls or markets marked a rise of 25.9% while the in-store, stalls and markets showed an increase of 8.8%
Wholesale trade recorded 6.2% increase
The wholesale trade also showed an increase of 6.2% or RM3 billion, making the total RM55.9 billion. The growth is due to development in other specialised wholesale that grew 6.0% to RM22.3 billion.
“This was followed by a 9.2% growth in wholesale of food, beverages, and tobacco to RM10.9 billion,” Mohd Uzir said.
He also added that the wholesale of agricultural raw materials and live animals jumped 15.9% to RM4.7 billion.
He observed that the motor vehicles sub-sector rose by 12.5%, or RM1.4 billion, to RM12.5 billion in February 2022, owing to a 27% increase in sales of motor vehicle parts and accessories to RM3.5 billion.
Additionally, the expansion was aided by increases in motor vehicle maintenance and repair (+27.3%), motor vehicle sales (+3.3%), and motorcycle sales, maintenance, and repair (+5.1%).
Meanwhile, the index of retail sales via the internet for February 2022 increased by 19.8% y-o-y.
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