KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 4): Malaysia's exports declined 6.7% to RM90.6 billion in October 2019 from a year earlier as the nation's commodity sales to major importers fell, the Statistics Department said today.

In a statement today, the department said Malaysia's exports had also dropped due to high base effect as the country achieved its highest export value ever recorded in October 2018.

"The main products which contributed to the decline in exports in October 2019 were crude petroleum (-RM1.9 billion), refined petroleum products (-RM1.8 billion), electrical & electronic products (-RM1.2 billion), liquefied natural gas (-RM745.5 million), palm oil and palm oil-based products (-RM572.5 million), timber and timber-based products (-RM84.6 million) and natural rubber (-RM14.7 million)," the department said.

The department said Malaysia's exports fell due to the decline in sales to Australia, China, Japan and Thailand.

"(In October 2019), total trade stood at RM163.9 billion, declining 7.6% or RM13.5 billion compared to October 2018," the department's chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said as the country's imports posted a faster rate of contraction compared to exports.

Today, the department said imports contracted 8.7% to RM73.3 billion in October 2019 from a year earlier.

The department said imports fell as the country recorded a decrease in intermediate, capital and consumption goods purchases.