KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (NNN-Bernama) — The official gross domestic product (GDP) growth outlook of between six per cent and 7.5 per cent set for this year will be reviewed, the Department of Statistic Malaysia said.
Chief statistician Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the revision would take into account the COVID-19 threat scenario and Movement Control Order (MCO) that is currently being implemented.
“We expect these figures to be scrutinised. Perhaps after this, we will see what are the effects from the outbreak of COVID-19 to the economy more comprehensively.
“There are a lot of activities affected currently, especially those relating to services, recreational, tourism and construction,” he said during a virtual press conference on the 2020 Economic Performance According To State Tuesday.
He said the new outlook would be announced on Aug 13 in conjunction with the second quarter GDP performance announcement.
Mohd Uzir said there are a lot of opportunities in the agriculture sector such as the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, livestock and fisheries that could be taken advantage of following the increase in global demand.
However, he said, there are constraints in terms of the strength and smoothness of the sector’s production.
Therefore, he said there is a pressing need to improve production techniques to boost the agricultural sector.
Mohd Uzir said he suggested to states that are working to revive their respective economy to look at how to improve the agriculture sector from the aspect of production and marketing involving modern farming.
Meanwhile, he said all states including federal territories recorded negative GDP growth for 2020.
He said several states managed to record positive growth in the agriculture sector such as Melaka (3.7 per cent), Johor (3.1 per cent), Pahang (1.6 per cent), Perak (1.4 per cent), Selangor (0.3 per cent) and Kelantan (0.2 per cent).
He added that cultivation activities led by oil palm and vegetables were among the main drivers to the positive growth of the agricultural sector in the states.
— NNN-BERNAMA