Xifres de comerç exterior de Malta

Foreign Trade in Figures

Centrally located in the Mediterranean, Malta has for a long time portrayed itself as a bridge between Europe and North Africa. Its economy relies heavily on foreign trade, principally with Europe. International trade represents 288% of the GDP (World Bank, latest data available), one of the highest ratios in the world. Malta mainly exports mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (30.5%), machinery and transport equipment (27.4%), and chemical products (12.7%); importing mostly machinery and transport equipment (37.7%), mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (27%), chemicals (9.8%), and food (8.6% - data NSO, 2022).

The country’s main trading partners are Germany (11.2%), France (5.2%), Italy and the UK (3.2 each%); whereas the main import origins are Italy (19.5%), France (5.7%), Spain (4.8%), the United Kingdom and Germany (4.4% each - data NSO, 2022). Overall, the EU accounts for 50.9% of total exports and 32.4% of imports.

Malta has a structural trade deficit in terms of merchandise: in 2021, the country exported USD 3.1 billion worth of goods, importing USD 6.6 billion. Malta, however, is a service hub and thus a net commercial services exporter: in 2021 the island exported USD 18.1 billion worth of services (+14.4% y-o-y), importing USD 14.7 billion (+11.1% - data WTO). In the same year, the overall trade balance for goods and services was estimated to be positive by the World Bank, at 13.8% of GDP (up from 12.8% one year earlier). According to the latest figures from the NSO, in 2022 total exports of goods stood at EUR 4.5 billion (+26.4% y-o-y), vis-à-vis USD 9.2 billion of imports (+38.7% y-o-y).