MATRADE Annual Report 2020 90 MATRADE has been approved an allocation under the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (RMKe-11) to develop the National Trade Blueprint 2021 - 2025 (NTBp), an export development action plan for the next five years, to enhance Malaysia's export competitiveness in the global market. A study was conducted between January to December 2020, supervised by a Steering Committee and a Technical Committee that comprise representatives from the government and private sectors. The main focus of the NTBp is to drive exports of Malaysian goods through an efficient trade ecosystem and promote competitive products in line with the targets set out in the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMKe-12). In the process of preparing the NTBp, issues and challenges affecting Malaysia’s trade were identified and appropriate recommendations for solutions to address these issues and challenges were outlined. The need to develop the NTBp follows concerns over Malaysia's performance in world export rankings as reflected by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The country's export performance dropped to the 26th position in 2019, compared to 18th position in 2004, which was Malaysia's best performance thus far. Among countries that have surpassed Malaysia's position were Vietnam, Thailand, India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Poland. The main factors identified stemmed from the trade ecosystem that needs to be improved and strengthened to be more conducive to increase export competitiveness. Challenges faced by the exporting community NATIONAL TRADE BLUEPRINT included ineffective logistics, high costs, cumbersome certification processes and non-integration of procedures as well as issues related to customs declaration and licensing processes. In addition to this, branding initiatives that are not comprehensive, uncoordinated export facilitation by various Ministries and Agencies as well as increasingly challenging market access are also affecting the country's export performance. Malaysia's exports are mainly driven by multinational companies, reflecting high dependence on their output. Malaysia needs to increase the capacity of local companies to offset the dependency on foreign investment in sustaining export performance. With the ever-changing global market landscape, Malaysia must be ready to address and capitalise on new opportunities and challenges to remain competitive internationally. Efforts to strengthen the export agenda require intervention from two aspects, namely ecosystem efficiency and strategic trade promotion initiatives. The main aim of the National Trade Blueprint 2021-2025 is to position Malaysia as a dynamic and preeminent trading nation through sustainable export developments based on key priorities, strategic themes and thrusts.
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