FX.co ★ Malta’s Trade Deficit Narrows Sharply in August

In August 2025, Malta experienced a significant reduction in its trade deficit, which decreased to EUR 326.8 million from a revised EUR 881.1 million in the previous year and down from a record EUR 904.0 million in July. The decline in the deficit was primarily attributed to a 44.8% year-on-year drop in imports, bringing the total to EUR 723.7 million. This decrease was mainly due to substantial reductions in the import of capital goods and other items, which plummeted by 78.2%, alongside declines in fuels and lubricants by 18.2%, and industrial supplies by 3.9%. Conversely, consumer goods imports saw a 6.4% increase, driven by higher food and beverage entries. On the export side, sales decreased at a slower rate, falling 7.9% to EUR 396.9 million, with lower sales of industrial supplies, fuels and lubricants, and capital goods and others, which dropped by 14.0%, 12.0%, and 14.2% respectively. However, exports of consumer goods notably increased by 10.5%. Over the first eight months of 2025, the trade deficit contracted to EUR 3.24 billion, compared to EUR 3.51 billion in the corresponding period of 2024.