In 2025, Malaysia significantly increased its imports of graphics cards

The dramatic increase in GPU imports to Malaysia, which was not previously considered a global logistics center, has raised concerns among international analysts. Imports increased by a record 3400 percent. Experts associate this increase with the trade war between the US and China. 

Import growth with reference to the International Trade Administration

Based on data from the Taiwan International Trade Administration, open information on social media revealed an increase of almost 3400 percent compared to 2023. In April of this year, GPU imports reached a record $2.74 billion.

During the current year, imports have been gradually increasing. In January, the volume was $1.12 billion, in February, imports decreased slightly but were still higher than in the same period last year, and in March, there was a spike to $1.96 billion. In total, for 4 months of this year, Malaysia imported GPUs worth $6.45 billion.

Possible reasons for the import growth

Most likely, the increase in imports can be related to the US restrictions on exports to China. Therefore, important components may be shipped to China via Malaysia, thus bypassing the sanctions.

There is also a possibility that Malaysia is building up its computing capacity for cloud-based AI platforms. It is currently impossible to monitor shipments to China, as the process of physical deliveries is non-transparent.

The situation may become much more acute on May 15, when a new US restriction on the export of AI accelerators comes into effect.