Malta’s international trade deficit drops to €199m in May

The deficit of international trade in goods in Malta dropped to €199m in May 2019, compared to a deficit of €329.5m in May 2018, according to provisional figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO). Both imports and exports dropped by €130.7m and €0.2m, respectively.

The decrease in the value of imports was primarily due to machinery and transport equipment (€65.2m), mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€32.1m), and food (€19.5m). 

On the exports side mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€11.2m) and food (€3.9m) accounted to the main decrease, partly outweighed by an increase of €11.2m in chemicals. 

During the first five months of 2019, the trade deficit widened by €505.4m, compared to the corresponding period of 2018, reaching €1.7436b, as the provisional NSO figures show. 

Thus, from January to May, imports and exports increased by €522.8m and €17.4m respectively. Higher imports were mainly in machinery and transport equipment (€697.3m), partly outweighed by a decrease of €177.5m in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials. The main increase in exports was registered in miscellaneous manufactured articles (€44m), partly outweighed by a decrease of €22.3m in machinery and transport equipment.

Furthermore, for the same reference period, imports from the European Union reached €2.0001b (65.8%) of total imports. Imports from euro area countries dropped by €345m when compared to the same period in 2018. 

Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from the United Kingdom (€586.2m) and Italy (€202.2m), respectively. With respect to exports, the main increase was directed to the United States of America (€17.5m), whereas Germany (€23m) registered the highest decrease. 

The full report including charts and visual representation of data is available for download at the website of NSO.