Visible trade gap narrows

The visible trade gap narrowed by €50.4 million in March when compared to the corresponding month last year.

The National Statistics Office said that provisional data for international trade showed that the visible trade gap in March stood at €70.4 million, down by €50.4 million when compared to the corresponding month last year.

There was a marginal increase in imports of €1.2 million, while exports also registered an increase of €51.6 million.

In the first quarter this year the visible trade gap narrowed by €61 million, to €281.7 million.

The decrease in imports of €149.3 million was mainly due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.

A substantial amount of Malta’s trade flows and consequent trade deficit continued to be directed towards the European Union. Decreases were registered in imports from Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium.

On the other hand, imports from Russia, Libya, Norway, Singapore, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, India and China showed an increase.

Exports to the euro area declined, mainly to Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium. Increases in exports were recorded for Libya, Singapore, Russia, India, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, China and Norway.