That dollar amount reflects a -16.3% decrease compared to $4.14 billion five years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, Maltese export sales advanced by 6.4% from $3.26 billion during 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, Malta’s official currency is the euro. The euro depreciated by -3.5% against the US dollar since 2019 but appreciated by 2.6% from 2022 to 2023. The weaker European Union currency since 2019 made Malta’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Malta’s top 5 most valuable exported products are electronic integrated circuits or microassemblies, medication mixes in dosage, unused stamps, processed petroleum oils, then fish fillets and pieces. Combined, that quintet of major Maltese exports accounts for over half (57.5%) of Malta’s overall product sales on international markets. Such a high percentage suggests a highly concentrated portfolio of exported products.
Malta’s Best Exports Customers
The latest available country-specific data shows that 63.9% of products exported from Malta was bought by importers in: Germany (26.9% of the Maltese total), Japan (6%), Italy (5.4%), Hong Kong (4.47%), Singapore (4.45%), United States of America (3.9%), United Kingdom (3.1%), Spain (2.3%), Ghana (2.2%), Croatia (1.87%), France (1.86%) and Poland (1.5%).
From a continental perspective, 56.6% of Malta’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 25.4% were sold to importers in Asia. Malta shipped another 10% worth of goods to buyers in Africa.
Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (5.2%), Latin America (1.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (1%) mostly Australia and New Zealand.
Given Malta’s population of 542,000 people, its total $3.47 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $6,400 for every resident in the small island country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $6,300 per capital one year earlier during 2022.
Malta’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups garnered the highest dollar value in Maltese global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Malta.
- Electrical machinery, equipment: US$1.2 billion (35.4% of total exports)
- Pharmaceuticals: $405.6 million (11.7%)
- Books, newspapers, pictures: $344.3 million (9.9%)
- Fish: $211.3 million (6.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $186.4 million (5.4%)
- Machinery including computers: $150 million (4.3%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $108.9 million (3.1%)
- Toys, games: $105.9 million (3.1%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $96 million (2.8%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $93.3 million (2.7%)
Malta’s top 10 export categories generated 84.5% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Rubber both as materials and items made from rubber was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 20.6% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales were mineral fuels including oil via a 16.3% upturn.
Malta’s shipments of miscellaneous food preparations posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 16.2%.
The leading decliner among Malta’s top 10 export categories was fish, recording a -25.9% year-over-year drop.
The above listed product categories are at the four-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to the more detailed HTS codes, Malta’s most valuable export products are electronic integrated circuits or microassemblies (27.8% of the Maltese total), medication mixes in dosage (11.6%), unused stamps (8.7%), processed petroleum oils (5.3%), fish fillets and pieces (4.2%), lower-voltage switches or fuses (3.7%), models, puzzles and miscellaneous toys (3%), items made from vulcanized rubber (2.5%), miscellaneous food preparations (2.1%), then yachts and other pleasure or sports vessels (also 2.1%).
Products Generating Malta’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Maltese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Books, newspapers, pictures: US$320.6 million (Up by 14.7% since 2022)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $86.6 million (Down by -29.9%)
- Toys, games: $62.9 million (Down by -25.9%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $58.6 million (Up by 19%)
- Knit or crochet fabric: $27.4 million (Down by -11.5%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $22.4 million (Up by 18.5%)
- Woodpulp: $2.7 million (Down by -28.4%)
- Live animals: $226,000 (Down by -17.8%)
- Wool: $108,000 (Reversing a -$311,000 deficit)
- Lead: $40,000 (Up by 1,233%)
Malta has highly positive net exports in the international trade of printed books, newspapers and pictures. In turn, these cashflows indicate Malta’s strong competitive advantages under the books, newspapers and pictures category.
Products Causing Malta’s Worst Trade Deficits
Malta incurred an overall -US$4.9 billion trade deficit during 2023, falling by -7.2% from -$5.3 billion in red ink in 2022.
Below are exports from Malta that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Malta’s goods trail Maltese importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.2 billion (Down by -20.6% since 2022)
- Ships, boats: -$651.7 million (Up by 9.2%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: -$510.6 million (Down by -61.3%)
- Vehicles: -$432.1 million (Up by 64.6%)
- Machinery including computers: -$362.5 million (Up by 6.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$156.9 million (Down by -1.5%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$151.9 million (Up by 31.8%)
- Paper, paper items: -$148.2 million (Up by 16.3%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$112.6 million (Up by 54.4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$108.3 million (Up by 10.8%)
Malta has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for refined petroleum oils, electrical energy, and petroleum gases under the mineral fuels-related product category.
Malta’s Export Companies
Given how small Malta is, it should come as no surprise that not one Maltese corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia does list Maltese companies that engage in international trade. Selected examples are shown below:
- Air Malta plc (airliner)
- Emmanuel Delicata (wine)
- Simonds Farsons Cisk plc (beverages including beer)
In macroeconomic terms, Malta’s total exported goods represent 10.1% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($34.3 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 10.1% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 10.8% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Malta’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Malta’s unemployment rate averaged 2.5% for 2023, down from an average 2.917% in 2022 according to International Monetary Fund metrics.
Malta’s capital city is Valletta, the smallest national capital in the European Union.
See also Malta’s Top Trading Partners, Germany’s Top Trading Partners, Italy’s Top Trading Partners, France’s Top Trading Partners and Japan’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Malta. Accessed on October 3, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 3, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average)
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 3, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 3, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 3, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 3, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Malta. Accessed on October 3, 2024
Wikipedia, Malta. Accessed on October 3, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 3, 2024