H1 2023 APAC merchandise exports weak: S&P Global Market Intelligence

But despite near term headwinds, the medium-term outlook for APAC exports remains favourable, he noted in a commentary.

A key support for APAC export growth will be rapid growth in intra-APAC trade, buoyed by rapidly rising consumer markets in large Asian emerging markets, including India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, he said.

APAC merchandise exports have declined significantly in the first half (H1) this year due to weak demand in the United States and Western Europe and sluggish economic recovery in mainland China. In South Korea and Taiwan, export orders have been soft in recent months.

Surveys for June indicated that new export orders have remained weak across many APAC economies in mid-2023.

Manufacturing export orders in the G4 economies of the US, Eurozone, UK and Japan have continued to show contraction throughout the first seven months of 2023, according to latest PMI survey evidence, he noted.

Mainland China's merchandise exports recorded a large decline in June, falling by 12.4 per cent year on year (YoY), reflecting weakness in the key US and European Union (EU) markets.

Japan's merchandise exports in yen value terms have been relatively resilient during H1 2023, increasing by 3.1 per cent YoY, and rising by 1.5 per cent YoY in June. However, in US dollar terms, June exports showed a small decline of 3.8 per cent YoY.

The pace of Malaysian goods export growth has weakened this year, reflecting base year effects as well as the economic slowdown in key markets.

Indonesian exports have also fallen sharply in recent months, with June exports down by 21 per cent YoY.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)