A deficit of €406.1 million was registered in provisional figures for registered trade in goods in Malta during December. A deficit of €286.2 million had been registered in the same month the previous year.

The National Statistics Office said imports amounted to €758.8 million, while exports totalled €352.7 million. This represents an increase of €149.9 million and €30 million, respectively, over the same month of the previous year.

The rise in the value of imports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€114.2 million), and machinery and transport equipment (€51.5 million), partly offset by a decrease in chemicals (€23.9 million).

On the exports side, the main increase was registered in machinery and transport equipment (€21.1 million). 

Total trade in goods: January-December 2022 

During 2022, the total trade in goods deficit widened by €1,642.9 million when compared to 2021, reaching €4,753.2 million.

Imports and exports increased by €2,582.7 million and €939.9 million, respectively, amounting to €9,254.5 million and €4,501.3 million.

Higher imports were mainly recorded in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€1,070.4 million), machinery and transport equipment (€924.3 million), food (€190 million), chemicals (€135.9 million), semi-manufactured goods (€121.9 million), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (€104.7 million).

On the exports side, the main increases were registered in machinery and transport equipment (€379.4 million), mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€359.5 million), food (€129.8 million), miscellaneous manufactured articles (€52.5 million), and semi-manufactured goods (€45.8 million), partly offset by a decrease in chemicals (€39.3 million).

Goods were imported mainly from the European Union (50.9%) and Asia (19.5%).

Similarly, exports were mostly directed to the European Union (32.4%) and Asia (20.6%). The main increase and decrease in imports were registered from Canada (€376.6 million) and the United Kingdom (€97.9 million), respectively.

With respect to exports, the main increase was directed to Germany (€145.8 million), whereas Italy reported the highest decrease (€32.4 million). 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.