Maltese exporters must spend up to 44 per cent more than their Sicilian counterparts to export the same products to France, the PN has claimed.

Peter Agius, the PN's chief spokesperson, said the party had found the disparity after carrying out an exercise comparing export costs. 

The difference on one consignment of the same weight meant a difference of €1,600 in price on Maltese products compared to Sicilian ones. 

On delivering high-value products such as pharmaceuticals, this leads to prices being 6 per cent higher for Maltese products, Agius said. The Maltese product must then be already 6 per cent cheaper to start competing.

For lower value products, the price difference is greater.

A PN government would address the competitive disadvantage faced by factories and companies to import or export products, he pledged.

Last month the Malta Chamber of SMEs warned that the skyrocketing costs of international shipping have made it impossible for Maltese retailers to compete with online stores.

It said that shipping costs have risen by as much as 10 times in recent months, disproportionately impacting island-states like Malta which cannot reroute imported goods along land-based routes. 

The Chamber had endorsed a Nationalist Party proposal to push the European Union to set up a €40 million fund to help Maltese entrepreneurs cushion the impact of exorbitant transportation costs.