KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s volume index of wholesale and retail trade declined 6.2% last year, said the Statistics Department.
For the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020), the volume index of wholesale and retail trade grew 1.4% to 31.2 points compared with third quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020), according to Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin.
On a year-on-year comparison, volume index contraction slowed to -1.2% from -2.0% in Q3 2020.
As for the performance across sub-sectors, he said the volume index of motor vehicles contracted 6.1% in Q4 2020 as against the previous quarter.
“This fall was dragged down by sales of motor vehicles, which slipped 9.4%, followed by maintenance and repair of motor vehicles, which fell 7.0%.
“Sales of motor vehicle parts and accessories also recorded a negative growth of 2.6%,” he said in a statement today.
On the other hand, sales, maintenance, and repair of motorcycles edged up 0.6% within the same period.
The performance of this sub-sector grew 11.5% compared with the same quarter of the previous year.
Uzir said the volume index of retail trade recorded a 1.4% growth from the previous quarter, pushed up by retail sale of cultural and recreation goods which saw a 10.8% growth.
This was followed by retail sales not in stores, stalls or markets, which registered 9.2%, and retail sales in stalls and market of 5.6%.
For year-on-year comparison, the volume index of this sub-sector contracted by 2.9%.
Uzir said the volume index of wholesale trade sub-sector was also on the positive track to record 3.5% growth in Q4 2020 compared with Q3 2020, due to other specialised wholesale and wholesale of household goods, which registered 9.8% and 4.6%, respectively.
For year-on-year growth, the volume index of wholesale trade dipped 0.4%.
“The seasonally adjusted volume index of wholesale and retail trade rose 1.3% as against Q3 2020. This growth was underpinned by wholesale trade of 4.0% and retail trade, which advanced 0.2%.
“Contrarily, motor vehicles decreased 2.9% compared with the previous quarter,” he added.
Meanwhile, Uzir said, following the implementation of the movement control order announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on January 11, the second phase of the Malaysia Population and Housing Census 2020 via face-to-face interview will be rescheduled.
“Therefore, people who have not yet completed the census can take the opportunity to fill in the online census (e-Census), which has been reopened,” he said.
Further information on the Malaysia Census 2020 can be found on the census portal or social media @MyCensus2020. – Bernama, February 9, 2021
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