Our Market

The Maltese market might seem uninteresting to potential exporters if judgment is based solely on the fact that Malta has a population of less than half a million inhabitants. Nevertheless, foreign exporters appreciate that this is far from true. The facts show differently due to several reasons:

Malta’s population is much higher on average throughout the year due to the 1.14 million tourists that visit the islands yearly.

Total Food market per annum in Malta is estimated at EUR606 million (NSO, 2010).

Malta produces only around 25% of its food requirements, therefore the food market relies heavily on imports for its food necessities. In the last 5 years, 65% to 75% of all food requirements per year were imported.

The value of food imports to Malta in 2009 and the preceding 4 years ranged between EUR387 and EUR427 million per annum.

The Maltese households spend a high percentage of their disposable income on food consumption. Food consumption expenditure was estimated at 15.0 per cent of total private expenditure by final consumers in the local market in 2009.