Malaysia Sector Trade Volatility Dashboard

Malaysia Trade Intelligence

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: April 2025 to March 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 Commodities and Transactions Not Elsewhere Classified

Most Stable Sector Food and Live Animals

Highest Volatility Score 26.05%

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

Commodities and Transactions Not Elsewhere Classified

Overall Volatility 26.05% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 20.35%

Export Volatility 22.72%

Import Volatility 26.16%

Balance Volatility 52.83%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 3,823,576,513 (RM 3.82 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 1,276,040,473 (RM 1.28 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 2,547,536,040 (RM 2.55 billion)

Average Trade Deficit RM -1,271,495,567 (RM -1.27 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 2

Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials

Overall Volatility 18.81% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 7.93%

Export Volatility 8.39%

Import Volatility 13.06%

Balance Volatility 298.53%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 28,243,807,079 (RM 28.24 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 14,473,354,930 (RM 14.47 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 13,770,452,150 (RM 13.77 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 702,902,780 (RM 702.90 million)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 3

Machinery and Transport Equipment

Overall Volatility 17.36% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 7.32%

Export Volatility 9.51%

Import Volatility 7.70%

Balance Volatility 101.91%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 135,626,539,061 (RM 135.63 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 70,999,968,321 (RM 71.00 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 64,626,570,740 (RM 64.63 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 6,373,397,581 (RM 6.37 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 4

Manufactured Goods Classified Chiefly by Material

Overall Volatility 15.99% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 6.85%

Export Volatility 8.66%

Import Volatility 5.46%

Balance Volatility 97.00%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 21,455,106,525 (RM 21.46 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 11,016,049,675 (RM 11.02 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 10,439,056,850 (RM 10.44 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 576,992,825 (RM 576.99 million)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 5

Beverages and Tobacco

Overall Volatility 15.82% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 10.59%

Export Volatility 12.11%

Import Volatility 11.62%

Balance Volatility 55.24%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 517,937,798 (RM 517.94 million)

Average Monthly Exports RM 233,718,020 (RM 233.72 million)

Average Monthly Imports RM 284,219,778 (RM 284.22 million)

Average Trade Deficit RM -50,501,759 (RM -50.50 million)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 6

Crude Materials, Inedible, Except Fuels

Overall Volatility 15.52% — Moderate Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 9.96%

Export Volatility 17.68%

Import Volatility 9.26%

Balance Volatility 44.52%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 7,740,803,706 (RM 7.74 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 3,167,105,064 (RM 3.17 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 4,573,698,642 (RM 4.57 billion)

Average Trade Deficit RM -1,406,593,579 (RM -1.41 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 7

Animal and Vegetable Oils, Fats and Waxes

Overall Volatility 13.36% — Low Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 12.34%

Export Volatility 13.34%

Import Volatility 13.86%

Balance Volatility 15.01%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 8,313,443,787 (RM 8.31 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 7,243,398,209 (RM 7.24 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 1,070,045,577 (RM 1.07 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 6,173,352,632 (RM 6.17 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 8

Chemicals and Related Products

Overall Volatility 10.84% — Low Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 4.97%

Export Volatility 6.47%

Import Volatility 4.98%

Balance Volatility 59.09%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 18,491,006,019 (RM 18.49 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 8,805,739,770 (RM 8.81 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 9,685,266,249 (RM 9.69 billion)

Average Trade Deficit RM -879,526,478 (RM -879.53 million)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 9

Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles

Overall Volatility 9.58% — Low Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 6.98%

Export Volatility 8.71%

Import Volatility 9.28%

Balance Volatility 20.92%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 24,671,499,360 (RM 24.67 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 15,868,627,691 (RM 15.87 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 8,802,871,670 (RM 8.80 billion)

Average Trade Surplus RM 7,065,756,021 (RM 7.07 billion)

Months Used 12 months

Rank 10

Food and Live Animals

Overall Volatility 8.88% — Low Volatility

Total Trade Volatility 7.35%

Export Volatility 8.87%

Import Volatility 7.63%

Balance Volatility 17.28%

Average Monthly Total Trade RM 12,159,902,434 (RM 12.16 billion)

Average Monthly Exports RM 4,803,159,219 (RM 4.80 billion)

Average Monthly Imports RM 7,356,743,215 (RM 7.36 billion)

Average Trade Deficit RM -2,553,583,996 (RM -2.55 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.