Summary
- Share of its imports
- 21.2%
- Share of its imports from outside the EU
- 37.4%
- Value imported
- $3.3billion
- Rank among its suppliers
- 1st
- Products where it sells over 50%
- 18
- Products where it sells over 75%
- 5
- Dominated value
- $2.9billion
- Share of total imports
- 18.5%
Trend
Trend in shares
China went from 0.92% to 21.2% of what Malta buys
Share (%)
- China 21.2%
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Year | Value (USD millions) | Share | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 33 | 0.92% | 19 |
| 1996 | 39 | 1.2% | 16 |
| 1997 | 36 | 1.1% | 17 |
| 1998 | 38 | 0.98% | 19 |
| 1999 | 62 | 1.6% | 17 |
| 2000 | 91 | 2% | 10 |
| 2001 | 63 | 1.5% | 13 |
| 2002 | 123 | 2.8% | 11 |
| 2003 | 134 | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2004 | 288 | 4.9% | 6 |
| 2005 | 302 | 5.5% | 6 |
| 2006 | 519 | 7.3% | 4 |
| 2007 | 312 | 4.1% | 7 |
| 2008 | 891 | 8.8% | 3 |
| 2009 | 1,064 | 11.2% | 3 |
| 2010 | 1,549 | 14.9% | 2 |
| 2011 | 1,569 | 11.9% | 3 |
| 2012 | 1,353 | 10.1% | 3 |
| 2013 | 1,272 | 11.1% | 2 |
| 2014 | 2,255 | 17.6% | 1 |
| 2015 | 1,760 | 13.1% | 2 |
| 2016 | 1,228 | 9.5% | 3 |
| 2017 | 1,767 | 12.4% | 2 |
| 2018 | 913 | 7.7% | 3 |
| 2019 | 501 | 4.4% | 7 |
| 2020 | 683 | 6.5% | 4 |
| 2021 | 1,520 | 10.9% | 3 |
| 2022 | 1,562 | 11% | 3 |
| 2023 | 1,038 | 9.2% | 2 |
| 2024 | 3,336 | 21.2% | 1 |
Products where China sells more than half
| Product | Supplier | Share | Second | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo and cruise ships | China | 55.1% | South Korea · 31.6% | $2.8 billion |
| Electric motors and generators | China | 81.3%over 75% | United Kingdom · 5.4% | $25 million |
| Air conditioners | China | 51.9% | Italy · 29.7% | $21 million |
| Coated or rubberized knitted garments | China | 82.3%over 75% | United Kingdom · 8.1% | $13 million |
| Buses | China | 57.1% | Turkey · 26.5% | $8 million |
| Other organo-inorganic compounds | China | 98.2%over 75% | Germany · 0.61% | $7 million |
| Men's knitted suits and trousers | China | 53.1% | Italy · 11.1% | $4 million |
| Costume jewelry | China | 50.2% | Italy · 10.6% | $4 million |
| Antibiotics | China | 72.5% | Spain · 19.3% | $3 million |
| Plaited hats and headgear | China | 93.9%over 75% | Italy · 1.6% | $2 million |
| Festive and Christmas articles | China | 50.1% | Italy · 17.4% | $2 million |
| Other glass articles | China | 54.7% | Italy · 14.3% | $2 million |
| Umbrellas and parasols | China | 58.3% | Italy · 12.6% | $1 million |
| Phosphates and polyphosphates | China | 60.1% | Thailand · 11.2% | $1 million |
| Citric, lactic and other carboxylic acids | China | 55.1% | United Kingdom · 13.6% | $1 million |
| Waterproof rubber or plastic footwear | China | 76.6%over 75% | Italy · 9.1% | $973 thousand |
| Hormones | China | 56% | Taiwan · 24.8% | $864 thousand |
| Clasps, buckles and hooks | China | 66.8% | Germany · 18.1% | $829 thousand |
A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.
Are there other suppliers in the world?
- China sells 31% of what the world exports of cargo and cruise ships; next come South Korea (29.6%), Japan (10.9%) and India (3.1%). The rest of the world exported 20.9 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 25% of what the world exports of electric motors and generators; next come Germany (11%), United States (7%) and Mexico (6.6%). The rest of the world exported 2,201.6 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 39.4% of what the world exports of air conditioners; next come Thailand (11.7%), Mexico (11.7%) and United States (4.2%). The rest of the world exported 1,958.3 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 36.7% of what the world exports of coated or rubberized knitted garments; next come Vietnam (8.8%), Cambodia (7.8%) and Spain (6.1%). The rest of the world exported 61.8 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 21.1% of what the world exports of buses; next come Turkey (13%), Japan (10.1%) and Germany (8.4%). The rest of the world exported 2,179.4 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 44.6% of what the world exports of other organo-inorganic compounds; next come United States (14.5%), Germany (10%) and South Korea (4.8%). The rest of the world exported 598.2 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 27.3% of what the world exports of men's knitted suits and trousers; next come Bangladesh (9.9%), Vietnam (9.2%) and Cambodia (6.7%). The rest of the world exported 2,146.2 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 51.3% of what the world exports of costume jewelry; next come Italy (8.8%), France (8%) and Thailand (4.3%). The rest of the world exported 1,135.9 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 45.7% of what the world exports of antibiotics; next come India (9%), Italy (8.1%) and Switzerland (6.8%). The rest of the world exported 2,441.7 times what Malta buys from China.
- China sells 58.1% of what the world exports of plaited hats and headgear; next come Mexico (9.4%), Italy (5.4%) and United States (2.4%). The rest of the world exported 110.6 times what Malta buys from China.
Exports from the rest of the world already have buyers; the figure shows scale, not availability.
Seen from China
Malta is China’s 92nd-largest customer, with 0.09% of its exports.
Links
Sources and method
Sources and licenses
- CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
- Natural Earth · Public domain
Methodology
The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.
Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.
The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.
Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.
The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.
Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.