Malaysia's exports in March shrank 4.3 percent year-on-year, mostly on declining orders for electrical and electronic products as well as crude petroleum, local press reported Wednesday.

The decline in exports was the biggest one in five years, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said in a statement.

According to reports of the New Straits Times, the figure was also below market expectations, as the exports in March had been anticipated to grow by 1 percent.

Compared with the same period last year, imports in March grew 1.6 percent, MITI's statement said.

Total trade for the month was valued at 91.43 billion ringgit ( 26.12 billion U.S. dollars), with trade surplus at 6.73 billion ringgit (1.92 billion U.S. dollars).

On a month-on-month basis, the exports picked up strongly in March, rising by 19.4 percent to 49.08 billion ringgit (14.02 billion U.S. dollars), while imports expanded 24 percent to 42.35 billion ringgit (12.1 billion U.S. dollars).

Source: Xinhua