Malta’s retail trade grows 4.7%, outpacing euro area and EU averages

Malta's retail trade volume increased by 4.7 per cent in May 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the latest figures published by Eurostat.

The annual increase was well above the 1.6 per cent recorded across the euro area and the 1.9 per cent registered across the European Union, highlighting the resilience of consumer spending on the island.

On a month-on-month basis, retail trade volume in Malta also rose by 0.6 per cent in May compared with April. This exceeded the 0.2 per cent increase recorded across the euro area and was slightly higher than the 0.5 per cent growth registered across the EU.

Across the bloc, the strongest annual increases in retail trade volume were recorded in Cyprus (+8.4 per cent), Bulgaria (+7.9 per cent) and Luxembourg (+7.8 per cent), while declines were reported in Romania (-4.0 per cent), Estonia (-0.5 per cent) and Belgium (-0.4 per cent).

Month on month, Cyprus (+3.7 per cent), Luxembourg (+3.6 per cent) and Poland (+2.4 per cent) recorded the largest increases in retail trade volume. The sharpest declines were observed in Estonia (-2.2 per cent), Croatia (-2.0 per cent), and Belgium and Lithuania (both -0.7 per cent).

Across the euro area, retail trade volumes in May were supported by a 0.6 per cent increase in sales of food, drinks and tobacco and a 0.1 per cent rise in non-food products, while sales of automotive fuel declined by 0.5 per cent. Across the EU, food, drinks and tobacco sales also rose by 0.6 per cent, while non-food products increased by 0.5 per cent.