Against the macro backdrop of a global economic slowdown, global trade and consumer demand have further slowed, and the import and export data of many Asian countries in January fell sharply. The exports of most countries that focus on manufacturing products have all fallen. Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea and other countries have experienced more than double-digit declines, while Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries have experienced growth.
Exports from many countries plummeted by double digits in January
Recently, according to the “Cambodia China Times” report, due to the impact of reduced orders from the European and American markets, nearly 500 factories in Cambodia have closed down and 60,000 people have lost their jobs. Heng Sok, spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Labor, revealed that most of the factories that closed down or stopped production were garment factories, mainly due to reduced orders from the US and EU markets and a lack of raw materials. He said that weak demand in European and American markets has become an important trend affecting the global economy. In addition, the previous COVID-19 epidemic and the uncertainties caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict have affected the consumption willingness of European and American countries.
In addition, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of Cambodia, Cambodia’s international trade volume reached US$3.49 billion in January this year, a year-on-year decrease of 29%. Data show that in January this year, Cambodia’s export volume was US$1.567 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 14%; its import volume was US$1.922 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 37.5%.
The export data of other Asian countries are not optimistic either, with Vietnam, South Korea and other countries experiencing a decline of more than 10%. According to the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and data from the General Bureau of Statistics of Vietnam, Vietnam’s total import and export volume in January this year was US$46.56 billion, a decrease of 17.3% month-on-month and a year-on-year decrease of 25%. Among them, Vietnam’s export volume was US$25.08 billion, a decrease of 13.6% month-on-month and a year-on-year decrease of 21.3%; the import volume was US$21.48 billion, a month-on-month decrease of 21.3% and a year-on-year decrease of 28.9%.
Vietnam’s budget revenue data for import and export activities in the first two months of this year is also relatively sluggish. On March 3, the General Administration of Customs stated that in the first two months of this year, Vietnam’s exports are expected to be US$49.44 billion, a decrease of 10% (equivalent to US$5.74 billion), and imports are expected to be US$46.62 billion, a decrease of 16% (equivalent to a decrease of US$8.86 billion).
According to Xinhua News Agency, the “Import and Export Trends in January” released by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of South Korea showed that South Korea’s exports in January were US$46.27 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 16.6%, which was significantly higher than the 9.5% year-on-year decrease in December last year; imports in January amounted to US$58.96 billion. As a result, South Korea’s trade deficit in January was US$12.69 billion, a record high for a single month.
The latest February data released by South Korea is still sluggish. Exports in February decreased by 7.5% year-on-year, and imports increased by 3.6% year-on-year. As South Korea’s main export product, chip exports in February were US$5.96 billion, a 42.5% year-on-year decrease. The South Korean government said it would take all possible measures to boost exports.
According to Global Market Reports, Singapore’s non-oil exports fell for the fourth consecutive month in January, with shipments of electronic and non-electronic products declining in most of its top ten export markets. Enterprise Singapore said the Southeast Asian trading hub’s non-oil exports shrank 25.0% in January from a year earlier. The decline was slightly lower than market expectations, but exceeded the 20.6% drop in December last year. Among them, exports of electronic products fell by 26.8% year-on-year, and exports of non-electronic products fell by 24.5%.
Sri Lanka’s “Daily Financial Times” recently reported that exports of clothing products fell to the lowest point in the past five years in January this year, and industry insiders are worried that the industry will face severe challenges in the next year. According to reports, Sri Lanka’s national exports of clothing products in January were US$396.6 million, a sharp decrease of 18.6% year-on-year. Among them, Sri Lanka’s exports to the United States fell by 24% to US$162 million, exports to the EU fell by 19% to US$113 million, exports to the UK fell by 8% to US$56.3 million, and exports to other markets fell by 10% to US$65 million. Industry insiders pointed out that exports of clothing products may continue to decline in the next six months or even longer.
Thailand, India fell slightly
At the same time, exports from countries such as Thailand and India experienced relatively small declines. According to China News Service, Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce announced on the 2nd that in January this year, Thailand’s total foreign trade exports were US$20.249 billion, a decrease of 4.5% from the same period last year, marking the fourth consecutive month of negative growth.
In January, Thailand’s rice exports increased significantly, and the exports of automobiles and spare parts also increased by 9.2% year-on-year. However, the export of most other agricultural products and industrial products declined to varying degrees, among which the export of computers and spare parts fell by 21% year-on-year.
According to the Trading Economics website citing information from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s exports fell 4.6% year-on-year to US$32.91 billion in January amid weak global demand.
Countries such as Japan and Indonesia achieved growth
However, although many countries in Asia experienced varying degrees of decline in exports in January, there were also a few resource-based countries that achieved export growth.
According to China News Service, trade statistics released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance show that because the increase in imports is much greater than the increase in exports, Japan’s trade balance deficit reached 3.5 trillion yen in January, setting a new high for a single-month trade deficit. Data show that this is Japan’s 18th consecutive month of trade deficit.
In January, Japan’s import volume was 10.05 trillion yen, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%; Japan’s export volume was 6.55 trillion yen, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. Japan’s import and export volume in January hit a record high for the same period in history.
Data show that while import and export volumes both hit record highs for the same period in history, Japan’s import and export volumes declined in January. Among them, the export volume index fell by 11.5% year-on-year, and the import volume index fell by 2.4% year-on-year..
Import and export trade data released by the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) showed that Indonesia’s exports in January were US$22.31 billion, a month-on-month decrease of 6.36% and a year-on-year increase of 16.37%. Among them, exports of oil and gas products were US$1.49 billion, a month-on-month increase of 0.98%, and a year-on-year increase of 65.03%; non-oil and gas product exports were US$20.83 billion, a month-on-month decrease of 6.84%, and a year-on-year increase of 13.97%.
Indonesia imported US$18.44 billion in January, a month-on-month decrease of 7.15% and a year-on-year increase of 1.27%. Indonesia’s trade surplus in January was US$3.87 billion. This was the 33rd consecutive month that Indonesia recorded a trade surplus.
According to global market reports, Malaysia’s trade surplus narrowed in January, with trade, exports and imports all declining from the previous month. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia said that compared with December 2022, Malaysia’s trade, exports, imports and trade surplus decreased by 11.8%, 14.4%, 8.6% and 35.5% respectively in January due to shortened working days and extended holidays. However, data showed that compared with the same period last year, Malaysia’s exports in January increased by 1.6% to 112.84 billion ringgit, and imports increased by 2.3% to 94.67 billion ringgit. However, the growth rates were far lower than market expectations.
According to Global Textile Information, according to the latest data released by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh’s exports in January this year were US$5.13 billion, an increase of 5.89% from US$4.85 billion in the same period last year. Export revenue exceeded the $5 billion mark for the third consecutive month since November.
Export revenue in the first seven months of fiscal year 2022-23 rose 9.81% year-on-year to $32.44 billion, up from $29.54 billion in the previous fiscal year. From July 2022 to January 2023, ready-made garments (RMG), which has the highest export revenue, reached US$27.41 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.31%.
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