Preliminary figures show that Malta registered a trade deficit of €247.0 million in April 2016, up by €138.4 million on 2015, when it stood at €108.6 million, the National Statistics Office said today.

Imports increased by €59.6 million while exports decreased by €78.7 million. The increase in the value of imports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€60.0 million).

The major commodity groups that accounted for the decrease in exports were mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€23.6 million), food (€17.8 million), miscellaneous manufactured articles (€15.1 million), machinery and transport equipment (€13.4 million), and chemicals (€8.1 million).

During the first four months this year, the trade deficit widened by €312.8 million when compared to the corresponding period last year. Imports show an increase of €162.1 million, with exports decreasing by €150.7 million.

Higher imports were mainly due to machinery and transport equipment, which increased by €307.5 million. This was partly outweighed by a decrease of €125.3 million in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.

The decrease in the value of exports was triggered by lower mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€219.7 million). This was partly outweighed by an increase of €135.6 million in chemicals.

Malta's trade imports from the European Union reached €846.2 million, or 38.2 per cent of total imports. There was a decrease of €120.4 million in imports from euro area countries when compared to the same period last year.

Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from France (€38.7 million) and Italy (€110.0 million) respectively. On the export side the main increase was directed to the United States of America (€155.1 million), whereas Egypt (€93.7 million) registered the highest decrease.

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