Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1530423
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 DECEMBER 2024 NEWS Registered trade in goods showed deficit of €300.4 million in October FOR the month of October 2024, provisional figures for registered trade in goods in Malta are show- ing a deficit of €300.4 million as opposed to a deficit of €307.2 mil- lion in the corresponding month of 2023. Imports amounted to €830.3 mil- lion, while exports totalled €529.8 million, representing increases in both imports and exports of €69.5 million and €76.2 million, respec- tively, over the same month of the previous year. The increase in imports was mainly due to Machinery and transport equipment (€51.8 mil- lion), and Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€34.4 mil- lion), partly offset by a decrease in Food (€16.5 million). On the ex- ports side, the main increases were registered in Food (€34.1 million), and Chemicals (€33.6 million). During the first 10 months of the year, the deficit widened by €388.6 million when compared to the corresponding period of 2023, reaching €4,050.6 million. Imports stood at €8,285.9 million whereas exports reached €4,235.3 million, representing increases of €870.8 million and €482.2 million, respectively. Higher imports were mainly re- corded in Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€588.0 mil- lion), and Machinery and trans- port equipment (€323.8 million), partly offset by a decrease in Food (€67.7 million). On the exports side, the main in- creases were registered in Mineral fuels, lubricants and related mate- rials (€350.2 million), and Chemi- cals (€79.6 million). Goods were imported mainly from the European Union (59.0 per cent) and Asia (20.6 per cent). Sim- ilarly, exports were mostly directed to the European Union (34.9 per cent) and Asia (12.8 per cent). The highest increase in imports was recorded from France (€501.5 million), while imports from Ger- many registered the largest drop (€239.2 million). Exports to the United States of America registered the highest increase (€143.7 million), while those to Germany experienced the largest decrease (€75.8 million). In October, the deficit of trade in goods excluding specific chapters amounted to €116.7 million, com- pared to a deficit of €224.8 million recorded in the same month of 2023. Imports and exports amount- ed to €469.3 million and €352.6 million, respectively, thus repre- senting a decrease of 8.3 per cent in imports and an increase of 22.8 per cent in exports over the corre- sponding month of the previous year. During the first 10 months of 2024, the deficit of trade in goods excluding specific chapters nar- rowed by €98.7 million when com- pared to the same period of 2023, reaching €2,062.3 million. Imports decreased by 0.7 per cent while exports increased by 2.7 per cent, amounting to €4,574.8 million and €2,512.5 million, re- spectively. Percentage distribution of total Trade in Goods by major commodity group International Trade in Goods: Monthly