Positive trade balance with Japan

Malta is one of few EU member states with a positive trade balance with Japan.

Statistics published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm, yesterday showed that last year the island had a €38 million positive trade balance with that country.

Last year, Malta exported €102 million while it imported €64 million worth of goods to the land of the rising sun. The statistics, published prior to the EU-Japan Summit taking place tomorrow in Tokyo, show that generally, the EU has a large trading deficit with Japan.

According to Eurostat, between 2000 and 2007, EU27 exports of goods to that country fell slightly in value, from €45.5 billion to €43.7 billion, while EU27 imports slipped by 15 per cent, from €92.1 billion to €77.9 billion.

As a result, the EU27 deficit in trade declined from €46.6 billion in 2000 to €34.2 billion in 2007.