April 01, 1999
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| April 01, 1999 | atimes.com | |
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| Southeast Asia Malaysian agricultural sector set for record growth KUALA LUMPUR - The services and agriculture sectors are likely to record positive growth in output in 1999, while production in the mining sector is expected to contract, the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, said. In its 1998 annual report released Wednesday evening, the central bank said the expected growth in the two sectors is on the back of the expected growth in real output in 1999. The services sector, the largest sector of the economy, is expected to grow by 2.5 percent compared with 1.5 percent in 1998, while agriculture is expected to register a turnaround with 5.0 percent growth this year from a 4.0 percent contraction in 1998, the report said. The report added that that despite its weaker performance last year, the services sector remains the largest sector in the economy, contributing 48.8 percent of total gross domestic product (GDP) and total employment of 47.5 percent. The finance sector is expected to perform better as banking institutions refocus on lending activity, following the accelerated implementation of the restructuring exercise in the sector. The report also noted the improved performance of the transport and distributive trade sector, as well as of the electricity, gas and water sub-sectors, in line with the expected pick-up in both domestic and export-oriented industries. ''After contracting by two percent in 1998, output in the wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants sector is expected to register positive growth in 1999,'' the report said. The projected growth is on the back of the government's efforts to promote tourism in 1999 and the anticipated recovery in consumer spending. In 1998, a slowdown was observed in intermediate services comprising transport, storage and communications and finance, insurance, real estate and business services. The agriculture sector is expected to be boosted by the increasing output of crude palm oil (CPO), which is expected to jump by seven percent to 8.9 million tonnes for the year. Meanwhile, sawn log output is forecast to decline by one percent to 22.5 million cubic metres, due to the government's conservation policy and commitment to sustainable forest management by the year 2000. In 1998, the output performance of the agriculture sector was affected mainly by adverse weather, labour shortages, unfavourable prices, reduced cultivated area and lower yields. CPO production declined by 8.3 percent in 1998, while the decline in rubber production persisted as the industry continued to face unfavourable prices, labour shortages and a decline in cultivated areas. However, Malaysia maintained its position as the world's largest CPO producer despite the weak performance, accounting for about one-half of world production. Sawn log production contracted by 27.2 percent in 1998 as logging activities remained depressed because of lower demand from traditional buyers and a downturn in the domestic construction sector. Natural rubber production declined by 8.8 percent to 885,400 tonnes in 1998, representing the fourth consecutive year of decline. In the mining sector, gas and tin are expected to continue marking higher production as they did last year, with eight percent and 24.8 percent growth respectively projected in 1999 because of higher domestic demand for gas and the re-opening of more mines in response to favourable tin prices. The report said the higher production of gas and tin is, however, expected to be more than offset by the lower production of crude oil. Given the global oversupply of crude oil and continuing weak demand, existing plans are for a reduction in crude oil production to 713,000 barrels per day, a decline of 1.8 percent from 1998. Meanwhile, fishery output increased by 5.7 percent to 1.4 million tonnes in 1998 because of the marked increase in the production of aquaculture and marine fisheries, which both accounted for 90.4 percent of total fish production, while deep sea fishing contributed 129,420 tonnes to the total. The higher production also contributed to an increase in exports by 1.9 percent to 238,600 tonnes, mainly to Thailand, Singapore and Japan, while imports declined by 3.4 percent to 207,840 tonnes in 1998. The Malaysian per capita consumption of fish increased to 42 kg. in 1998 from 41 kg. previously, the report said. (Asia Pulse/Bernama) | |||||||||
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