The Federation of Industry has complained over shipping problems which, is said, are affecting business competitiveness.

"Over the past months, members of the Federation of Industry have begun to experience increased problems with the shipping of the export of goods, particularly to the UK and Northern European ports. Incidents of cargo not being loaded or delayed are not isolated but becoming quite consistent, to the extent that members' clients are noticing this trend and complaints are being lodged. In cases, business deals are being lost," the federation said.

"Business nowadays is won and sustained by remaining competitive. This does not only imply competitively priced and good quality products - but also important is the ability of the supplier to deliver just in time to the customer, and every time. Thus, dependability and reliability of supply are crucial competitive factors."

It said such problems are affecting both Maltese-grown business and foreign firms based in Malta.

"It goes without saying that it will be increasingly difficult to attract manufacturing foreign investment operations without reliable connections."

The FOI said it considered this matter as a serious issue, which could jeopardise exports of goods and urged the government to study options to address this real concern without undue delay.