Malaysia Sector Trade Volatility Dashboard

Review how much Malaysia’s major trade sectors fluctuate across the latest 12 months, including export volatility, import volatility, total trade volatility, and trade stability using official Malaysia open data.

Latest Malaysia Sector Trade Volatility: August 2025 to July 2026

The figures below estimate trade volatility across the latest 12 available months. Volatility is calculated using the coefficient of variation, which compares the standard deviation of monthly trade values against the 12-month average.

Months Analysed 12 months

Most Volatile Sector Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials

Most Stable Sector Food and Live Animals

Highest Volatility Score 29.22%

Malaysia Sectors Ranked by Trade Volatility

The cards below rank sectors by estimated volatility across exports, imports, total trade, and trade balance. Ranking is based on the same two-decimal volatility score displayed to visitors, with average total trade used as a tie-breaker.

Rank 1

Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials

Overall Volatility 29.22% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 20.60%

Export Volatility 18.20%

Import Volatility 25.26%

Balance Volatility 313.27%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 32,155,520,730 (RM 32.16 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 16,453,306,446 (RM 16.45 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 15,702,214,285 (RM 15.70 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 751,092,161 (RM 751.09 million)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 2

Machinery and Transport Equipment

Overall Volatility 21.21% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 15.69%

Export Volatility 16.76%

Import Volatility 15.69%

Balance Volatility 67.68%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 154,258,359,425 (RM 154.26 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 82,337,204,827 (RM 82.34 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 71,921,154,598 (RM 71.92 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 10,416,050,228 (RM 10.42 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 3

Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles

Overall Volatility 21.09% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 19.94%

Export Volatility 23.04%

Import Volatility 15.87%

Balance Volatility 34.38%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 29,539,310,490 (RM 29.54 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 19,626,548,458 (RM 19.63 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 9,912,762,032 (RM 9.91 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 9,713,786,426 (RM 9.71 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 4

Commodities and Transactions Not Elsewhere Classified

Overall Volatility 20.33% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 16.19%

Export Volatility 14.61%

Import Volatility 21.56%

Balance Volatility 46.24%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 3,945,189,483 (RM 3.95 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 1,404,665,263 (RM 1.40 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 2,540,524,220 (RM 2.54 billion)

Average Trade Deficit RM -1,135,858,958 (RM -1.14 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 5

Manufactured Goods Classified Chiefly by Material

Overall Volatility 18.76% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 9.41%

Export Volatility 10.04%

Import Volatility 9.76%

Balance Volatility 172.74%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 22,319,885,117 (RM 22.32 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 11,360,659,904 (RM 11.36 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 10,959,225,213 (RM 10.96 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 401,434,691 (RM 401.43 million)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 6

Beverages and Tobacco

Overall Volatility 16.25% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 10.61%

Export Volatility 12.19%

Import Volatility 11.52%

Balance Volatility 59.58%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 517,295,910 (RM 517.30 million)

Average Monthly Exports RM 235,764,099 (RM 235.76 million)

Average Monthly Imports RM 281,531,811 (RM 281.53 million)

Average Trade Deficit RM -45,767,712 (RM -45.77 million)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 7

Animal and Vegetable Oils, Fats and Waxes

Overall Volatility 14.90% — Low Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 13.25%

Export Volatility 14.58%

Import Volatility 16.21%

Balance Volatility 16.95%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 8,266,502,671 (RM 8.27 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 7,112,416,577 (RM 7.11 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 1,154,086,094 (RM 1.15 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 5,958,330,484 (RM 5.96 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 8

Chemicals and Related Products

Overall Volatility 14.76% — Low Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 10.10%

Export Volatility 9.99%

Import Volatility 10.87%

Balance Volatility 54.69%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 19,466,676,727 (RM 19.47 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 9,222,203,726 (RM 9.22 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 10,244,473,002 (RM 10.24 billion)

Average Trade Deficit RM -1,022,269,276 (RM -1.02 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 9

Crude Materials, Inedible, Except Fuels

Overall Volatility 14.30% — Low Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 9.69%

Export Volatility 13.84%

Import Volatility 9.71%

Balance Volatility 43.30%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 8,367,242,240 (RM 8.37 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 3,587,302,208 (RM 3.59 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 4,779,940,032 (RM 4.78 billion)

Average Trade Deficit RM -1,192,637,824 (RM -1.19 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 10

Food and Live Animals

Overall Volatility 9.19% — Low Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 7.72%

Export Volatility 9.49%

Import Volatility 7.83%

Balance Volatility 16.79%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 11,824,108,598 (RM 11.82 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 4,623,573,186 (RM 4.62 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 7,200,535,412 (RM 7.20 billion)

Average Trade Deficit RM -2,576,962,226 (RM -2.58 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Source: Official Malaysia open data from data.gov.my and the Department of Statistics Malaysia. Volatility is calculated using the coefficient of variation: standard deviation divided by the average monthly value. The overall volatility score combines export volatility, import volatility, total trade volatility, and capped balance volatility for general comparison only. Recent figures may be provisional and subject to revision.

Understanding Malaysia Sector Trade Volatility

Malaysia sector trade volatility shows how much exports, imports, and total trade move up and down across the latest 12 available months. A sector with higher volatility may experience larger monthly changes, while a sector with lower volatility may show more stable trade activity.

This dashboard is different from ranking, contribution, and average dashboards because it focuses on fluctuation. A sector may be large, but stable. Another sector may be smaller, but highly volatile. This makes volatility useful for understanding uncertainty, shipment variation, and short-term planning risk.

Why Trade Volatility Matters

Trade volatility can reflect changes in demand, commodity prices, production cycles, shipment timing, seasonal activity, procurement decisions, supply chain disruption, or market uncertainty. High volatility does not automatically mean a sector is weak, but it may require closer monitoring.

For logistics providers, volatility data can help identify sectors where cargo movement may be less predictable. This can affect container planning, warehouse space, customs clearance workload, trucking demand, port coordination, and documentation planning.

For this dashboard, volatility is calculated using the coefficient of variation, which compares the standard deviation of monthly trade values against the 12-month average. This helps show how much each sector fluctuates relative to its normal trade level.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does trade volatility mean?

Trade volatility means how much trade values fluctuate over time.

How is volatility calculated here?

This dashboard compares monthly values across the latest 12 available months and calculates variation from the average.

What does higher volatility mean?

Higher volatility means the sector has larger month-to-month changes compared with its average level.

How often is the data updated?

The official trade data is generally updated monthly. Recent figures may be provisional and subject to revision.

Data Notice:
The figures displayed on this page are based on official Malaysia open data and are provided for general information and reference. Volatility scores are calculated for general comparison only. Recent figures may be provisional and subject to revision by the official data provider.