Malaysia's exports increased by 30.1 percent to 144.31 billion ringgit (30.57 billion U.S. dollars) in September from a year ago, official data showed Wednesday.

The export growth was contributed mainly by robust external demand for electrical and electronic (E&E) products, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude petroleum, optical and scientific equipment as well as machinery, equipment and parts, the International Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, exports of E&E products, optical and scientific equipment as well as LNG registered the highest monthly value thus far.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's trade rose by 31.4 percent year on year to 256.91 billion ringgit (54.42 billion dollars) in September.

Malaysia's imports also climbed 33 percent to 112.60 billion ringgit (23.85 billion dollars).

Malaysia's trade surplus achieved a new record high, expanding by 20.9 percent to 31.71 billion ringgit (6.72 billion dollars).

For the third quarter of 2022, Malaysia's trade edged up by 42 percent to 774.98 billion ringgit (164.16 billion dollars), compared to the third quarter of 2021.

Exports for the quarter increased by 38.3 percent year on year to 419.65 billion ringgit (88.89 billion dollars) while imports expanded by 46.5 percent to 355.32 billion ringgit (75.26 billion dollars).

In the first nine months of 2022, Malaysia's trade climbed by 32.9 percent to 2.13 trillion ringgit (451.18 billion dollars) from the same period last year.

Exports for the period grew by 30.3 percent to 1.159 trillion ringgit (245.5 billion dollars) while imports expanded by 36.2 percent to 971.26 billion ringgit (205.73 billion dollars).