Malta’s trade deficit narrows in March 2025

Malta’s trade deficit for March 2025 dropped significantly to €247.7 million, down from €365.0 million recorded in the same month last year, according to provisional figures released on Monday.

The improvement was driven primarily by a sharp fall in imports.

During the month under review, imports declined by €121.1 million to €614.7 million, while exports edged down slightly by €3.8 million, totalling €367.0 million.

The most substantial drop in imports came from the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials category, which fell by €110.1 million.

On the export side, chemicals and mineral fuels saw reductions of €21.6 million and €18.7 million respectively. These declines were partially offset by increased exports in miscellaneous manufactured articles (€22.4 million) and machinery and transport equipment (€12.1 million).

For the first quarter of 2025, Malta recorded a total goods trade deficit of €756.8 million, which is €110.4 million lower than the same period in 2024.

Imports during this period stood at €1.8 billion, reflecting a decrease of €224.7 million, while exports also declined by €114.3 million to €1.1 billion.

The drop in imports was again largely due to lower expenditure on machinery and transport equipment (€129.6 million) and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€113.6 million). Meanwhile, exports were primarily affected by a €142.3 million fall in machinery and transport equipment.

Malta’s trade was heavily oriented toward the European Union, with 58.8% of imports and 36.0% of exports involving EU member states. Asia accounted for 23.6% of imports and 14.4% of exports.

Portugal emerged as the largest contributor to the increase in imports, with a rise of €70.2 million. Conversely, imports from Spain declined by €71.2 million. On the export front, Turkey saw the highest increase (€61.5 million), while exports to the United States saw the steepest fall (€124.7 million).

When excluding specific chapters such as mineral fuels and confidential items, the March 2025 trade deficit actually rose to €265.3 million, up from €241.4 million in March 2024. Imports in this category increased by 4.8% to €487.5 million, while exports dipped slightly by 0.6% to €222.2 million.

However, for the January–March period the adjusted trade deficit narrowed by €21.7 million to €679.6 million. Imports fell by 1.6% to €1,337.7 million, while exports remained nearly unchanged at €658.1 million.