Trade gap widens by €225.9 million in July

Provisional data for international trade published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) show that the visible trade gap in July stood at €399.2 million, up by €225.9 million when compared to the corresponding month last year.

There were increases in imports and exports of €408.5 million and €182.6 million respectively. The increase in the value of imports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, with other increases registered for machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals, miscellaneous manufactured articles, beverages and tobacco, animal and vegetable oils and fats, and crude materials.

Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials accounted for the main increase in the value of exports when compared to the corresponding month in 2011. Other increases were recorded in machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, miscellaneous manufactured articles, and beverages and tobacco, as shown in Table 2.

In the first seven months of this year, the visible trade gap widened by €209.9 million, to stand at €1,288.1 million. The increase in imports of €873.9 million was mainly due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials. Increases were also registered for food, beverages and tobacco, miscellaneous manufactured articles, and crude materials. The rise in the value of exports of €663.9 million was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials. Other increases were noted in chemicals, miscellaneous manufactured articles, beverages and tobacco, and crude materials, as shown in Table 2.

The bulk of Malta's trade flows and consequent trade deficit continued to be directed towards the European Union. Increases were registered in imports from Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Belgium, while there were decreases from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Exports to the euro area went up, mainly to France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. Other increases in exports were recorded for Libya, Canada, Singapore and Taiwan.