KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) – Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) for local production edged up 0.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in February 2025, marking a slowdown from the 0.8 per cent increase recorded in January, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In a statement today, DOSM said the tempered growth was primarily driven by continued expansion in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, which helped offset declines in the mining industry.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin noted that the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector recorded a robust 15.2 per cent annual increase, led by the growing of perennial crops, which surged by 26.1 per cent. However, this growth was slightly lower than January’s 16.5 per cent.
In contrast, the mining sector continued to contract, shrinking by 9.7 per cent, a sharper decline compared to January’s 1.3 per cent drop. This was attributed to reduced output in crude petroleum (-9.8 per cent) and natural gas (-9.4 per cent).
Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector saw a marginal 0.3 per cent year-on-year decline, easing from a 0.6 per cent contraction in the previous month. The largest decreases were recorded in the coke and refined petroleum products sub-sector (-12.7 per cent), as well as computer, electronic and optical products (-3.2 per cent).
On a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, the manufacturing sector maintained a 0.3 per cent growth, consistent with January. This was supported by a 0.9 per cent increase in coke and refined petroleum products and a 0.7 per cent rise in food products.
The mining sector fell by 3.2 per cent on a monthly basis, compared to January’s 5.3 per cent decline, driven again by reduced outputs in natural gas (-3.5 per cent) and crude petroleum (-3.2 per cent). In the utilities sector, electricity and gas supply rose 0.3 per cent, while the water supply sector declined by 1.8 per cent.
Breaking down the PPI by stage of processing, Mohd Uzir said indices for crude materials for further processing and intermediate materials, supplies, and components remained unchanged year-on-year. However, the finished goods index rose by 0.7 per cent, boosted by a 1.7 per cent increase in capital equipment.
Month-on-month, both the crude materials and finished goods indices increased by 0.3 per cent, while the intermediate goods index fell slightly by 0.1 per cent.
In a related development, DOSM announced that Malaysia will chair the 15th ASEAN Community Statistical System Committee (ACSS15) this year, as part of the country’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship. The aim is to enhance regional statistical cooperation for sustainable development.
Additionally, the government has designated October 20 as National Statistics Day (MyStats Day), themed “Statistics is the Essence of Life.” This coincides with the Fourth World Statistics Day, which will be observed under the global theme “Driving Change with Quality Statistics and Data for Everyone.”
— BERNAMA —
