Mustapa: Malaysia's trade to grow 2.7% in 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's total trade is expected to grow 2.7% this year, in line with expected global growth, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
"That is in line with the current thinking that there will be a slight recovery in world growth and following that there will be some boost to global trade," he told reporters at a briefing on Malaysia's 2016 trade performance today.
Meanwhile, he said exports are expected to grow 3% and 2% this year.
Last year, total trade grew 1.5% to RM1.485 trillion from RM1.463 trillion in 2015. Exports rose 1.1% to RM785.93 billion while imports rose 1.9% to RM698.66 billion last year, resulting in a trade surplus of RM87.27 billion.
Mustapa said the rate of growth last year was modest due to lower global growth, softening of China's economy and commodity prices.