Preliminary figures show that Malta registered a trade deficit of €198.5 million in September 2016, up by €28.9 million on 2015, when the figure stood at €169.6 million, the National Statistics Office said today.
Both imports and exports decreased by €19.8 million and €48.6 million respectively. The decrease in the value of imports was primarily due to semi-manufactured goods (€19.5 million), while on the exports side mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€63.8 million) accounted for the main decrease.
During the first nine months this year, the trade deficit widened by €136.5 million when compared to the corresponding period last year. Both imports and exports show an increase of €170.7 million and €34.1 million respectively.
Higher imports were mainly due to machinery and transport equipment, which increased by €359.0 million. This was partly outweighed by decreases in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€99.6 million), semi-manufactured goods (€43.1 million), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (€33.2 million).
The increase in the value of exports was mainly triggered by chemicals (€559.1 million). This was partly outweighed by a decrease of €444.1 million in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.
Malta's trade imports from the European Union reached €2,361.2 million, or 47.0 per cent of total imports. There was a decrease of €315.3 million in imports from euro area countries when compared to the same period last year.
Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from the Caribbean and Bahamas Islands (€584.7 million) and the Netherlands (€203.3 million) respectively. On the export side, the main increase was directed to the United States of America (€592.7 million), whereas Africa (€284.9 million) registered the highest decrease.