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       PETALING JAYA: The country’s manufacturing sales value grew by 13.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM144.6bil in March 2022.

       The value had risen 9.8% from the previous consecutive month.

       According to the Statistics Department, the sales value for export-oriented industries, which accounted for 72.2% of total sales value, had seen an increase of 16.8%.

       Meanwhile, domestic-oriented industries’ manufacturing posted a y-o-y rise of 7.1% in March 2022.

       The growth of sales value for export-oriented industries was on a similar trend with the external trade exports and price factors, which remained favourable.

       On a month-on-month comparison, export-oriented and domestic-oriented industries grew 11.2% and 6.4%, respectively, the department said.

       “The growth in sales value for March 2022 was driven by the electrical and electronics (E&E) products sub-sector at 25.9%, especially in the manufacturing of computer, electronic and optical products,” chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin

       “The growth in sales value for March 2022 was driven by the electrical and electronics (E&E) products sub-sector at 25.9%, especially in the manufacturing of computer, electronic and optical products,” chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement.

       “The expansion was also attributed to the food, beverages and tobacco sub-sector at 14.4%, supported by the manufacture of food products industries as well as the petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products sub-sector due to the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products industries,” he added.

       Meanwhile, the department said the total number of employees who were hired in the manufacturing sector in March 2022 was about 2.287 million persons.

       This is a y-o-y increase of 2.4% from March 2021.

       “The increase was attributed to E&E products at 5%; wood, furniture, paper products and printing at 2.9%; and transport equipment and other manufactured products at 2.3%,” it said.

       For the first quarter of this year, the manufacturing sales value grew by 12.8% y-o-y to RM415.3bil from the same quarter of the previous year.

       The department said the growth was driven by E&E products at 17.6%; the food, beverages and tobacco products at 16.3%; and the petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastics products at 9.7%.

       The sales value per employee rose by 11.2% y-o-y to a record RM63,222 compared with the same month in 2021, it said.

       “Salaries and wages paid amounted to RM7.84bil, which is a y-o-y increase of 4.4% in March 2022,” it noted.