Exports drop by 17 per cent

Fresh statistics published yesterday by the National Statistics Office show a worrying decrease in exports for the first five months of the year which represent a drop of 16.9 per cent when compared to the same period in 2004.
Exports for the period January-May dropped by Lm65.1 million from Lm386.2 million registered in the same period of 2004.
The statistics confirm the trend established in the first quarter of this year which registered a drop in exports of 14 per cent. That drop had been attributed to a slow down in the semiconductor industry, represented in Malta by STMicroelectronics.
But the expected recovery of semiconductor exports does not seem to have materialised further complicating Malta’s economic performance.
Imports for the period January-May also registered a drop of Lm28.8 million or 5.3 per cent.
The European Union remained the main trading partner accounting for 72.5 per cent of all imports and 52.1 per cent of all exports.