Malta’s trade deficit grows further in July 2019

Malta’s international trade deficit grew to €348.2m in July 2019, from the €211.7m deficit measured in the same month last year, according to the most recent provisional figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO). The trade deficit widened by €675m to €2.451b during the first seven months of the year, as compared to the same period a year earlier

Imports rose by €70.1m while exports declined by €66.4m when compared to the same month of the previous year.

The increase in the value of imports was primarily fuelled by machinery and transport equipment (€45.9m) and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€27.9m).

Exports overall were dragged down by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€78.4m), partly outweighed by an increase of €9.9m in chemicals, according to NSO data.

Deficit widens overall in 2019

During the first seven months of the year, the trade deficit grew further widened by €675m to €2.451b. Imports increased by €648.6m, while exports dropped by €26.4m.

Imports were boosted by the machinery and transport equipment (€706.4m) segment, partly outweighed by a decrease of €70.4m in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.

The significant export drop of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€86.9m), was partly outweighed by increases of €38.8m and €30.4m in miscellaneous manufactured articles and chemicals, respectively.

In the first seven months of the year, imports from the European Union dropped by €346.8m to €2.918b — which constitutes the 66.8% of total imports –, as compared to the same period a year earlier.

Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from the United Kingdom (€812.2m) and Italy (€211.0m), respectively. With respect to exports, the main increase was directed to Spain (€30.3m), whereas Egypt (€22.2m) registered the highest decrease, NSO figures show.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Data in this article presents international trade in goods registered up to the 2 September cut-off date. The full report with charts and tables of further data is available on the official website of the NSO.

In line with the NSO’s errata corrige note, the present article has been updated as follows: the figure related to imports/arrivals from euro area has been amended to €346.8m from the erroneous €319.7m.