The Maldives Customs Service has revealed that exports increased by 51% in March.
Statistics published by Customs show that USD22 million in goods were exported in March, which is a 51% increase compared to USD7.5 million exported in the same month last year. Around 66% of the goods were exported to Thailand while 9% were exported to the United Kingdom (UK), and 4% to France. Most of the exported goods consisted of frozen skipjack tuna or stripe-bellied bonitos worth USD15 million as well as prepared and preserved skipjack tuna worth USD3.5 million.
Additionally, around USD279 million in goods were imported to the Maldives in March, which is a 10% increase compared to the USD253 million imported in the same month last year. Around 17% of the goods were imported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 16% were imported from India, and 11% were imported from Oman. Among the most common imported goods included food items worth USD60 million and fuel worth USD46 million.
The statistics also show that the Customs revenue was USD21 million in March, which is a 3% increase compared to the USD20 million received in the same month last year.