KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Malaysia’s local Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 0.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in February, easing from the 0.8 per cent rise recorded in January, said the Statistics Department (DOSM).
In a statement today, the DOSM said the moderated increase was driven by expansion in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector despite a decline in the mining sector.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin noted that growth in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was led by perennial crops, contributing to a 15.2 per cent y-o-y increase, though slightly lower than the 16.5 per cent recorded in January.
“The perennial crops sub-sector led the growth, rising 26.1 per cent. However, the mining sector continued to contract, declining 9.7 per cent, compared to a 1.3 per cent drop in January 2024, driven by lower output in crude petroleum (-9.8 per cent) and natural gas (-9.4 per cent).
“The manufacturing sector recorded a marginal decline of 0.3 per cent, compared to a 0.6 per cent contraction in the previous month, with the largest drop seen in coke and refined petroleum products (-12.7 per cent) and computer, electronic and optical products (-3.2 per cent),” he said.
He added that the electricity and gas supply sector recorded a slight decline of 0.2 per cent, while the water supply sector maintained its positive trend with a 2.9 per cent increase.
Uzir said that on a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, the local PPI increased slightly by 0.1 per cent in February, slowing from 0.3 per cent in January.
“The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector increased by 1.4 per cent, compared to a 3.9 per cent decline in the previous month, supported by growth in fishing (5.9 per cent) and perennial crops (1.6 per cent).
“The manufacturing sector rose by 0.3 per cent, maintaining the same pace as in the previous month, driven mainly by coke and refined petroleum products (0.9 per cent) and food products (0.7 per cent).”
He added that the mining sector declined by 3.2 per cent, compared to 5.3 per cent in January 2025, driven by lower output in natural gas (-3.5 per cent) and crude petroleum (-3.2 per cent), while in the utilities sector, the electricity and gas supply sector rose by 0.3 per cent, and the water supply sector fell by 1.8 per cent.
Elaborating on local PPI by processing stage, Uzir said crude materials for further processing and intermediate materials, supplies and components indices remained unchanged y-o-y, while the finished goods index rose 0.7 per cent, supported by a 1.7 per cent increase in the capital equipment index.
“On a m-o-m basis, the crude materials for further processing index and finished goods index increased by 0.3 per cent, while the intermediate materials, supplies and components index fell by 0.1 per cent,” he said.
Meanwhile, the DOSM said it would chair the 15th Asean Community Statistical System Committee, which aims to strengthen statistical cooperation for sustainable regional development.
“The government has declared October 20 National Statistics Day with the theme ‘Statistics is the Essence of Life’, while the Fourth World Statistics Day, observed on the same date in 2025, will carry the theme ‘Driving Change with Quality Statistics and Data for Everyone’,” it added.
— Bernama
