Trade deficit down by €34.8 million in April

Preliminary figures show that Malta registered a trade deficit of €93.9 million in April, compared to €128.7 million in the corresponding month in 2014.

Provisional data for international trade show that the trade deficit in April stood at €93.9 million, down by €34.8 million when compared to the corresponding month in 2014.

Imports registered a decline of €17.9 million while exports increased by €16.9 million. The decrease in the value of imports was primarily due to lower mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€114.2 million).

Other decreases were recorded for all commodity groups except for machinery and transport equipment. As for exports, food accounted for the main increase (€13.3 million), while machinery and transport equipment, miscellaneous manufactured articles, crude materials, and semi-manufactured goods also registered increases.

During the first four months this year, the trade deficit widened by €265.2 million, to €769.0 million when compared to the corresponding period last year. Imports increased by €164.7 million, while exports registered a decline of €100.5 million.

Higher imports were mainly due to machinery and transport equipment (€423.4 million), while the decrease in the value of exports was triggered by lower mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€128.1 million) and machinery and transport equipment (€18.7 million).

Malta’s trade imports from the European Union reached €978.9 million, or 49.7 per cent of total imports. There was an increase of €14.9 million in imports from euro area countries when compared to the same period last year.

Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from Italy (€26.3 million) and the United States of America (€71.2 million) respectively. On the export side the main increase was directed to the United Kingdom (€35.7 million), with Libya (€81.3 million) registering the highest decrease.