The Maldives Customs Service (MCS) has revealed the value of imports increased by 27% in December 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
The statistics of MCS show that goods worth USD363 million were imported to the Maldives in December last year, which is an increase of 27% compared to the USD285 million received during the same period in 2021. France, Oman, India, Singapore, and China, were the biggest contributors to imports. As such, USD49.7 million in goods were imported from France, USD48.89 million in goods were imported from Oman, USD46.95 million were imported from India, USD45 million were imported from Singapore, and USD34.5 million were imported from China in December last year. The largest imports were oil products, food products, machinery, and electrical equipment.
Meanwhile, exports from the Maldives also increased in December 2022. As such, goods worth USD14 million were exported from the Maldives in December 2021 while the figure stood at USD19 million during the same period last year, which is an increase of 35%. Maldives exported the most goods to Thailand, Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and France. According to statistics, 66% of exports went to Thailand. Germany accounted for 7% of the exports, while the UK accounted for 5% of the exports. Among the most exported items include various frozen fish products.
The statistics showed the revenue in December also decreased last year with the increase in the value of imports. The Maldives received revenue of USD23.6 million in December 2021 which is a 2% decrease compared to the USD23 million received in December last year.