Malaysia has begun to feel the economic repercussions of the conflict in the Middle East in several sectors, with the unrest expected to worsen over the coming months.
Bloomberg News reported that Economy Minister Akmal Nasrallah Muhammad Nasser said yesterday, Monday, that the number of workers who lost their jobs rose by 21 percent to reach 7,057 last April compared to last March.
He added that although job write-offs were worse during the past months of January and February, “this development deserves attention.”
It is noteworthy that the unemployment rate in Malaysia reached 2.9 percent during the first quarter.
Trading volume in the agricultural sector declined by 14.7 percent during the first quarter, in light of a decline in exports of major commodities including cocoa, rubber, palm oil and pepper.
The minister said that exports in the agricultural sector are expected to decline by about 13.5 percent this year, while imports are likely to decline by about 3.3 percent.
