In the first five months of this year, the visible trade gap widened by €76.6 million to €539.7 million, according to the National Statistics Office.

The provisional data shows that the gap widened because the increase in the value of imports was higher than that of exports.

Imports grew by €374.2 million in value while the value of exports went up by €297.6 million when compared to the corresponding period in 2010.

The increase in imports consisted mainly of capital goods, industrial supplies, fuels and lubricants and consumer goods. The rise in exports was primarily due to more mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.

The bulk of trade flows and consequent trade deficit continued to be directed towards the EU. Increases were registered in imports from Italy, the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium while a decrease was recorded from the Netherlands.

Exports to the eurozone show an increase, mainly to Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, with other increases being recorded for the UK, China, Switzerland and India.

The visible trade gap for May widened by €72.2 million when compared to the same month last year.

Source: Times of Malta

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