(AFP) - The country's trade surplus in 2001 fell 13.1 percent to RM53.7 billion due to the global economic slowdown, the Statistics Department said today.

Total exports for the year slumped 10.4 percent to RM334.4 billion, outpacing a 9.9 percent decline in imports to RM280.7 billion, the department said in a statement.

Electrical and electronics products remained the top revenue earners, accounting for 56.6 percent of exports but they fell 13.7 percent to RM189.4 billion last year from RM219.56 billion in 2000.

Exports to most major destinations declined last year, except for China and France where they rose 26.2 and 29.8 percent respectively. Exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) fell 15.1 percent while those to Europe dipped 10.9 percent.

Imports of intermediate and capital goods - mostly used in manufacturing exports and accounting for 87.5 percent of total imports - were down 14.4 percent.

But the department said imports from China had been increasing rapidly since March last year, making it Malaysia's fifth-ranked source of imports.

Further decline predicted

Imports from Asean, which made up 22.6 percent of the total, fell 15.2 percent but those from Europe rose 7.6 percent.

The department said the country posted a trade surplus of RM4.8 billion in December, marking the 50th consecutive monthly trade surplus since November 1997.

Almost 21 percent of Malaysia's exports go to the United States and economists have predicted that trade will decline further due to the effects of the US recession.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is also finance minister, has predicted gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.5-1.0 percent in 2001, down from an earlier government projection of one to two percent.

He said GDP was estimated to grow three percent this year - down from an earlier official forecast of four to five percent growth.