The Maldives Customs Service has revealed the number of imported goods has increased by 7% in August 2023 compared to the same month in 2022.
The latest statistics from Customs show that goods worth USD324 million were imported in August this year while goods worth USD311 million were imported in August last year. Most of the goods were imported from Oman, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, and Germany. As such, USD58 million in goods were imported from Oman, USD48 million were imported from India, USD42 million from the UAE, USD26 million from China, and USD24 million from Germany. The largest categories of imports were fuel, machinery, mechanical and electrical appliances, and food items.
Additionally, the number of exported goods has decreased from USD25 million in August last year to USD21 million in August this year. The Maldives exported the largest number of goods to Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), Thailand, India, and France. Around 25% of the goods were exported to Germany while 18% were exported to the UK, 13% were exported to Thailand, 8% to India, and 5% to France. Among the most exported items were various frozen and preserved fish products.