Trading goods deficit drops to €234.2m in April

Malta’s deficit in trading goods dropped to €234.2m in April, according to provisional figures, as compared to a deficit of €268.9m in the same month a year earlier, figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) reveal.

Both imports and exports were down by €62.3m and €27.6m, respectively. The decrease in the value of imports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€61.5m).

On the exports side, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€13.4m) and machinery and transport equipment (€12.1m) contributed to the main decrease, according to the NSO press release.

Focussing on Q1 2019, the trade deficit widened by €606.7m when compared to the corresponding period of 2018, reaching €1.515b.

Imports and exports increased by €613.7m and €7.1m respectively, with higher imports mainly in machinery and transport equipment (€754.9m), partly outweighed by a decrease of €164m in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.

The main increase in exports was registered in miscellaneous manufactured articles (€42.1m), partly outweighed by a decrease in machinery and transport equipment (€26.9m), as the press release says.

For the same reference period, imports from the European Union reached €1.720b (67.1%) of total imports. A decrease of €218.5m was registered in imports from EU countries when compared to the same period in 2018.

The United Kingdom and Italy registered an increase and decrease in imports with €594.4m and €79.3m, respectively. Regarding exports, the main increase was directed to the United States (€8m), whereas Italy (€25.1m) registered the highest decrease.

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