Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1151507
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 AUGUST 2019 NEWS DAVID HUDSON MALTESE consumers are more likely to shop online, especially in the EU market, as 89% made online purchas- es from other EU countries in 2018, the highest figure amongst all EU member states. According to London-based minutehack.com, ecommerce revenues in the EU are grow- ing by 14% each year, casting shadow on local stores. The burgeoning online mar- ketplace, OnBuy, citing the 2019 European Ecommerce Report, said that Malta is most likely to purchase online from other EU countries, followed by Cyprus (83%), Luxembourg (82%) and Austria (81%). Distance and tariffs that come with outside EU markets don't deter the Maltese from making purchases either as 62% of Maltese shoppers made online purchases from rest-of- the-world sellers in 2018. Strikingly, just 18% of Aus- trians made online purchases from rest-of-the-world sellers in 2018. In Montenegro, 77% of Mon- tenegrins made online pur- chases from rest-of-the-world sellers in 2018 but just 28% made purchases from EU on- line stores, presenting a big disparity in how consumers in this region shop online. Other EU countries not like- ly to shop online in EU mar- kets are Greece (35%), the UK (34%), Germany (24%), Czech Republic (19%), Macedonia (18%), Romania (13%), Poland (12%), Serbia (8%), and Turkey (7%). OnBuy's managing director Cas Paton said that Europe is a vast market that should aim to keep business inclusive. "By keeping our borders open, we welcome consumers and traders to make the most of the potential the European market holds and we encour- age the rest of the world to do the same," he said. Maltese most likely to buy online from EU sellers YANNICK PACE THE government's strategy in the energy sector has proved a failure, despite the fact that it was a central part of the Labour Party's 2013 election campaign, Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia said yes- terday. "The issue that the Labour Party placed at the centre of its [2013 general election] cam- paign we now know has failed," Delia said during a brief phone- in on the party's NET FM. The PN leader was speaking about the increase in the price of fuel which was announced earlier this week, and which he said, people and small business were having to suffer the con- sequences of having a govern- ment that lacked a plan for the sector. The increase, he said, came during the same week which saw the biggest drop in the international price of oil in the last four years. "It's ironic, because normally discussions about the price of fuel locally reflect what is happening in international markets," Delia said. Delia said the last time the nation was paying a similar price was when the interna- tional price of oil stood at $103 a barrel, and not at its current price of $54. "So, the government definite- ly can't use the excuse that the international price of oil has gone up which means that the reason must be that the gov- ernment doesn't have a plan." He said the country could now say that the energy policy in place has failed, insisting, however, that this was no cause for celebration for the Opposi- tion since it wasn't "high-rank- ing officials" who were paying for this, but rather everyday people and small business, many of whom were struggling to make ends meet. Delia pointed at the fact that "all of the country's unions", including the Labour-leaning General Workers Union had spoken out against the in- crease, stressing that despite this, there had been no reac- tion by the government. The price hike needed to be viewed within the context of people having to use more fuel because they are being forced to spend increasingly long pe- riods of time stuck in traffic. Turning to statistics pub- lished yesterday by the Na- tional Statistics Office, which showed the number of cars in Malta continuing to increase, Delia again insisted that peo- ple were suffering because of a government without a plan. This, he said, was evident in the current plans for the upgrading of the Sta Lucija roundabout and the surround- ing area, which he said would result in the government re- doing works it had invested €90,000 in, just two years ago. "How can you invest €90,000 in a project when you are meant to know that you will be redoing it in two years' time?" Delia asked. He said the statistics showed that government was doing nothing to reduce congestion, arguing that while it was posi- tive that the bus service op- erator was adding more buses to its fleet, this was of no use if the buses also got stuck in traffic. Without a punctual ser- vice, people would never shift to public transport, he added. "You need to remove cars from the roads so that the bus can get through," Delia said. The increase in Malta's popu- lation, he said, meant that cars were likely to continue increas- ing, and that while government was currently widening a num- ber of roads, there was a limit to this strategy's effectiveness. "I am saying this because I have spoken to traffic man- agement experts, and I insist that unless there is an effec- tive mass transport system the problem will not go away," De- lia said. Labour's energy policy has failed, Delia says Fuel price increase 'result of a government without a plan' Adrian Delia