Maltese export growth is still very suppressed despite seasonality, with export figures for March and April coming higher than last year, but still failing to point to a strong structural recovery in the country’s goods export base, according to the latest NSO figures.
According to the latest international trade figures published by the National Statistics Office, Malta registered a goods trade deficit of €314.8 million in April 2026, down from €436.1 million in April 2025.
Imports in April amounted to €714.8 million, while exports reached €400 million. This means that imports decreased by €59.9 million over the same month last year, while exports increased by €61.4 million.
On the surface, this is a strong monthly improvement. The April figure follows a similar rebound in March, when exports reached €404.5 million, up by €35.3 million over March 2025. The March and April figures therefore show a seasonal recovery in exports after a weak start to the year.
The more important figure, however, is the underlying trade figure excluding mineral fuels, aircraft and ships. These categories are usually distorted by one-off transactions and can give a misleading impression of the real trend in Malta’s trade performance.
When these chapters are excluded, the bump in exports becomes much more significant. In April, exports excluding these volatile categories rose by 16.4% over the same month last year, reaching €254.8 million. Imports on the same basis fell by 10.3% to €459.8 million.
This narrowed the adjusted trade deficit to €205 million in April, compared with €293.6 million in April 2025.
The improvement is also visible over the first four months of the year. Between January and April 2026, exports excluding mineral fuels, aircraft and ships increased by 7.8% to €973.2 million. Imports excluding these categories fell by 9.7% to €1.74 billion.
This means that the underlying deficit narrowed by €257.6 million to €766.8 million.
The headline figures also improved, but less dramatically. During the first four months of the year, total exports amounted to €1.52 billion, an increase of €64.1 million over the same period last year. Imports fell by €232 million to €2.51 billion, narrowing the total trade deficit by €296.1 million to €989.6 million.
The figures show that Malta’s trade deficit is narrowing, but this is happening through a combination of lower imports and a limited recovery in exports, rather than a significant increase in exports.
The decrease in imports during January-April was mainly due to machinery and transport equipment, miscellaneous transactions and commodities, and chemicals. On the export side, increases were mainly registered in machinery and transport equipment and food, partly offset by declines in miscellaneous transactions and commodities and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.
In April alone, export growth was driven mainly by mineral fuels, machinery and transport equipment, and miscellaneous manufactured articles, while chemicals declined.
Most of Malta’s goods trade remains concentrated around the European Union and Asia. During January-April, imports from the European Union stood at €1.55 billion, accounting for 61.8% of total imports. Imports from Asia accounted for 23% of the total.
Exports were also mostly directed to the European Union, although to a much smaller extent than imports. Exports to the EU amounted to €571.8 million, or 37.7% of total exports, while Asia accounted for 12%.
The highest increase in imports during the first four months of the year came from the Netherlands, while the largest drop was registered in imports from Italy. On the export side, Germany registered the highest increase, while exports to Turkey recorded the largest decrease.
Newsroom
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