Malta and Denmark registered the biggest drop in retail trade between January of last year and the corresponding month of 2014, with a decline of 0.7 per cent.
Figures published yesterday by the EU’s statistics office showed that in the period under review all other member states registered increases in retail trade except for Finland where the situation was unchanged.
On average, retail trade across the 28 member states increased by 0.9 per cent mainly due to the non-food sector, automotive fuel as well as food, drinks and tobacco. In the euro area the average increase was ever more pronounced with a rate of 1.3 per cent.
In January retail trade in Malta was also on the decline over the previous month with a drop of one per cent. On the other hand Portugal (6.7 per cent) and Estonia (4.6 per cent) registered the highest increase.
The monthly average increase in the volume of retail trade between December and January in the EU was 1.6 per cent.
In a statement the Nationalist Party noted that retail trade in Malta had declined in five of the previous six months in sharp contrast with the majority of other member states.