Preliminary figures show that Malta registered a trade defi cit of €370.2 million in February, compared to €134.2 million in the corresponding month in 2014, the NSO said today.

International Trade: February 2015

Provisional data for international trade show that the trade defi cit in February stood at €370.2 million, up by €236.0 million when compared to the corresponding month in 2014. Imports registered an increase of €185.9 million while exports decreased by €50.2 million. The increase in the value of imports was primarily due to machinery and transport equipment (€189.2 million). Other increases were recorded for chemicals, crudem materials, and miscellaneous transactions and commodities. Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials accounted for the main decrease in the value of exports (€52.6 million). Other decreases were registered for machinery and transport equipment, beverages and tobacco, chemicals, and crude materials.

January-February 2015

During the first two months this year, the trade defi cit widened by €230.5 million, to €472.9 million when compared to the corresponding period last year. Imports increased by €124.1 million, while exports registered a decrease of €106.4 million. The increase in imports was mainly due to machinery and transport equipment (€189.9 million), while the decrease in the value of exports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€93.2 million) and machinery and transport equipment (€24.3 million).

Malta’s trade imports from the European Union reached €433.4 million, or 43.5 per cent of total imports. There was a drop of €12.9 million in imports from euro area countries when compared to the same period last year. Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from Canada (€212.4 million) and Italy (€38.6 million) respectively. On the export side the main increase was directed to Egypt (€42.1 million), with Germany registering the highest decrease (€26.2 million).