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During the first two months of 2004 the visible trade gap narrowed by Lm16.9 million to Lm39.5 million, from the Lm56.4 million recorded for the same period of 2003.
In January and February this year, total imports reached Lm91.5 million and Lm94.6 million respectively. These figures are Lm2.5 million and Lm9.2 million less when compared to January and February of the previous year.
The importation of Industrial Supplies dropped by Lm7.1 million to Lm44.6 million in January and dropped also by the same amount to Lm45.7 million in February. Imports of Capital Goods for the month of January was also marginally down by Lm0.2 million from Lm13.0 million to Lm12.8 million. On the other hand imports of Capital Goods for the month of February were up by Lm0.6 million from Lm17.3 million to Lm17.9 million. At Lm19.9 million and Lm22.2 million, the importation of Consumer Goods for January and February decreased by Lm0.6 million and Lm1.6 million respectively. Fuel and lubricants imports for January 2004 went up by Lm5.4 million while those for February 2004 went down by Lm1.1 million, when compared to the same months of 2003.
In the two months under review, total exports for January 2004 show a decrease of Lm1.9 million to Lm70.8 million from Lm72.7 million of the previous year, while total exports for February 2004 went up by Lm7.1 million to Lm75.8 million from Lm68.7 million of February 2003. Domestic exports for January and February increased by Lm3.2 million and Lm6.6 million respectively while re-exports for January went down by Lm5.1million while those for February were marginally up by Lm0.5 million.
Direction of trade
During the two-month period under review, the European Union remained the main trading partner of Malta. In fact imports from the European Union reached Lm124.6 million, representing 67.0 per cent of total imports. Imports from Asia totalled Lm32.8 million, or 17.6 per cent, while those from America stood at Lm14.5 million, or 7.8 per cent.
Total exports to the European Union for the period January-February 2004 amounted to Lm66.8 million, representing 45.6 per cent of the total figure for exports. Exports to Asia stood at Lm35.5 million, or 24.2 per cent, while those to America reached Lm27.3 million, or 18.6 per cent.
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