Provisional figures for registered trade in Malta recorded a trade deficit of €84.2 million during October 2020, compared to a deficit of €311.1 million in the corresponding month of 2019.
International Trade in Goods: October 2020
Data in the National Statistics Office’s latest release presents all international trade in goods registered up to a cut-off date of 1st December, with both imports and exports registering a decrease of €308.6 million and €81.7 million, respectively, when compared to the same month last year.
The major decreases in the value of imports were recorded for machinery and transport equipment (€157.6 million) and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€64.1 million).
On the exports side, the main decrease was registered in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€49.2 million).
January-October 2020
During the first ten months of this year, the trade deficit narrowed by €1,529.1 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2019, reaching €1,974.0 million.
Both imports and exports decreased by €1,993.5 million and €464.4 million, respectively.
Lower imports were mainly recorded in machinery and transport equipment (€1,296.4 million) and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€512.7 million).
On the exports side, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€339.0 million) and machinery and transport equipment (€100.1 million) accounted for the main decreases.
Imports from the European Union reached €2,321.3 million, or 51.9 per cent of total imports.
There was a decrease of €438.9 million in imports from euro area countries when compared to the same period in 2019.
Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from China (€108.2 million) and the United Kingdom (€986.6 million), respectively.
With respect to exports, the main increase was directed to Hong Kong (€13.3 million), whereas Italy registered the highest decrease (€139.0 million).
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