Food expenditure in Malta drops by 3.9% in 2009 – NSO

The NSO has published a set of numbers related to food in Malta with a focus on the economic aspects of consumption, on the occasion of World Food Day 2010 tomorrow. This year’s theme of the World Food Day was “United against hunger”.

According to the NSO, in 2009, the share of household expenditure on food totaled 15.1% of total private final expenditure in the domestic market.

In the year under review, household spending was less on fish, bread and cereals, and meat. These dropped by €12.1 million, €5.7 million and €5.0 million respectively when compared to the previous year.

On the other hand, there was an increase in expenditure on vegetables and dairy products of 2.3% and 0.6% respectively when compared to 2008.

In 2009, food inflation on the 12-month moving average basis was highest in respect of vegetables, sugar, and flour and bakery products.

The value of imported foodstuffs during 2009 reached €387.4 million, a drop of 12.7% when compared to 2008.

The biggest decreases were recorded in fish with a decrease of 45.5% when compared to 2008 and cereals with a drop of 25.4% when compared to the previous year.

Likewise, Malta's food exports during 2009 had an estimated value of €69.6 million, a decrease of 57.0 % when compared to 2008, the NSO reported.