Jan-June commodity export revenue up 15.5 pct

PUTRAJAYA: Revenue from commodity exports from January to June this year amounted to RM70 billion, or 15.5 per cent of the nation’s total export earnings.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities said the revenue was 24.2 per cent higher compared with RM56.4 billion recorded in the same period of 2016.

Earlier, its minister, Datuk Seri Siew Keong received a courtesy call from Indonesia’s Minister of Industry, Airlangga Hartarto, at his office here yesterday.

The ministry said earnings from rubber product exports rose by 38.8 per cent to RM16.4 billion from RM11.8 billion last year.

“Rubber gloves, which contributed 48.4 per cent of total rubber product exports, recorded a 24.6 per cent increase in revenue to RM8 billion compared with RM6.4 billion in the same period last year,” it said.

The ministry said revenue from timber product exports rose by 5.2 per cent to RM11.5 billion compared to RM10.9 billion in the same period last year.

It said wood and rattan product export revenue of RM3.9 billion, or 33.8 per cent of the total timber products, increased by 7.2 per cent compared to RM3.6 billion in January- June 2016.

The revenue from cocoa product exports rose 5.1 per cent to RM2.9 billion compared with RM2.7 billion in January- June 2016, it said. — Bernama