The deficit of international trade in goods in Malta went up from €315.8m to €385.7m in June 2019, compared to the same month of the previous year, according to the provisional figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO).
Imports saw an increase of €51.3m to €642.9m, while exports decreased by €18.4m to €257.3m, according to provisional data published by the NSO.
The increase in the value of imports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€54.5m), machinery and transport equipment (€6.9m), and food (€6.8m). However, import of medicals dropped by €14.4m.
On the exports side, major decreases were seen in semi-manufactured goods (€8m), mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€4.3m) and machinery and transport equipment (€4.3m).
Trade deficit widens in H1
The trade deficit widened by €516.4m between January and June when compared to the corresponding period of 2018, reaching €2.1366b.
Imports and exports increased by €566.3m to €3.7586b and by €49.9m to €1.622b. Moreover, higher imports were mainly in machinery and transport equipment (€651.8m), partly outweighed by a decrease of €98.3m in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.
The main increase in exports was registered in miscellaneous manufactured articles (€35.1m) and in chemicals (€20.5m), partially outweighed by a decrease of €16.6m in semi-manufactured goods.
Imports from the European Union reached €2.5165b (67%) of the total and they experienced a decrease of €367.8m, compared to the same period in 2018.
While imports from the United Kingdom grew by €774.4m, those from Italy dropped by €204.1m. Regarding exports, the main increase was directed to Spain (€31.8m) while Italy registered the highest decrease (21.9m).
The full report with graphs and tables is available for download at the website of NSO.