Maltese retailers can now sell on Amazon

Parliamentary secretary for competitiveness and economic growth José Herrera today announced that, following discussions between the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) and Amazon, Maltese individuals and businesses can now sell their products online on Amazon websites. 

Sellers with Amazon have several advantages, such as joining a network of over 2 million active sellers generating billions of revenue on Amazon every year, access to security and fraud protection systems, and access to powerful reporting tools to monitor and improve online presence.

Amazon has built selling tools that empower sellers with the ability to reach customers in 189 countries.

According to the MCA, this development is another important milestone in realising the objectives of the National e-Commerce strategy which was launched in 2014.

One of the most important pillars of the strategy is that of addressing the challenges that microenterprises are facing in light of today’s digitally driven world.

The MCA has already launched a series of initiatives aimed at facilitating the proliferation of eCommerce activity, and this measure will provide the opportunity to local enterprises to compete at the same level as other enterprises across the globe.

Herrera hailed this event as another success for the Government and thanked everyone involved from his Parliamentary Secretariat, the MCA, the ministry for the economy, as well as the office of MEP Miriam Dalli, all of whom have worked in tandem to overcome this problem over the past months.

Reactions from MEPs

LAbour MEP Miriam Dalli said that in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, she had been in negotiations with Amazon to provide access to Maltese sellers to their online platform and reach international customers.

“I am satisfied that my efforts, together with those of the Ministry of Economy have resulted in a positive outcome. This positive step provides more opportunities to our entrepreneurs and SMEs who can now tap into a much wider market. These are tangible initiatives which can really make a difference,” Dalli said.

Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola welcomed the move. “Malta-based businesses have been suffering an unfair disadvantage due to having been given different treatment to companies in other countries. Maltese businesses have never shied away from competition, but that competition must be fair. Our businesses can compete with anyone, anywhere, but they need a level playing field."

“I have made enquiries as an MEP for Malta and Gozo on this matter and I am pleased that the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has managed to rectify the situation. As a result, Maltese businesses can now join a network of more than two million Amazon sellers and a market of over 300 million customers.”