The trading of goods in Malta registered a deficit of €878.6 million in July, according to provisional figures supplied by the National Statistics Office.

The NSO said the trade deficit in the same month a year ago had been €540.5 million. 

Total trade in goods: July 2022 

The NSO said imports reached €1,148.8 million, while exports totalled €270.1 million.

This represents an increase of €336.4 million in imports and a decline of €1.8 million in exports over the same month last year.

The rise in the value of imports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€156.1 million), and machinery and transport equipment (€150.2 million).

On the exports side, the main decreases were registered in chemicals (€11.9 million), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (€7.3 million), partly offset by increases in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€13 million), and machinery and transport equipment (€5.9 million). 

Total trade in goods: January-July 2022 

In the first seven months of the year, the total trade in goods deficit widened by €995 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2021, reaching €2,829.9 million.Imports and exports increased by €1,310.2 million and €315.2 million, respectively, amounting to €5,129.4 million and €2,299.5 million.Goods were imported mainly from the European Union (55.3%) and Asia (17.3%).

Similarly, exports were mostly directed to the European Union (35.6%) and Asia (15.1%).

The main increase and decrease in imports were registered from Italy (€276.8 million) and Turkey (€16.5 million), respectively. With respect to exports, the main increase was directed to the United Kingdom (€70.2 million), whereas Italy reported the highest decrease (€40.7 million).