In November 2025, Malaysia's imports saw a significant rise of 15.8% year-on-year, reaching MYR 128.9 billion. This was an increase from the previous month's revised growth of 10.0% and surpassed market expectations of 11.4%. It marked the most rapid growth since April, underscoring strong domestic demand as the year drew to a close. The increase in imports was driven by a 56.8% surge in capital goods and a 5.0% rise in intermediate goods, while imports of consumption goods and dual-use goods declined by 1.7% and 55.1% respectively.
Analyzing by sector, imports of manufactured goods increased by 18.6%, primarily driven by electronic and electrical products, which grew by 44.4%, and machinery and equipment, which saw a 15.2% rise. Mining imports also experienced a 4.7% increase, with crude petroleum up by 5.8% and metalliferous ores surging by 79.7%. On the other hand, agricultural imports decreased by 18.1%, largely due to substantial drops in palm oil, down 30.4%, and natural rubber, down 47.0%.
In terms of import origins, Malaysia recorded increases from China (33.3%), Taiwan (14.6%), Japan (6.3%), Hong Kong (61.9%), South Korea (78.6%), and the European Union (9.9%). In contrast, imports from the United States decreased by 6.1%, and those from ASEAN countries fell by 4.5%. Over the year to date, total imports rose by 5.6%, amounting to MYR 1.32 trillion.
