Revenue from import/export drops by 21 percent in June

Maldives’ imports and exports continue fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a 21 percent drop in revenue generated from import/export duty in May.

According to the monthly statics released by Maldives Customs Service on Monday, Maldives recorded MVR 2.1 billion in imports in June. The value is a 36 percent drop compared to the MVR 3.3 billion in imports recorded over the same period last year.

The major importing countries were China, India, Singapore, Oman and United Arab Emirates.

• China: MVR 379 million (18 percent)
• India: MVR 317 million (15 percent)
• Singapore: MVR 231 million (11 percent)
• Oman: MVR 191 million (9 percent)
• UAE: MVR 148 million (7 percent)

Meanwhile, the value of exports in June was recorded as MVR 217 million. The value is a 33 percent drop compared to the MVR 326 million in exports over the same period last year.

The major exporting countries were Thailand, Italy, UK, Germany and US.

• Thailand: MVR 46 million (28 percent)
• Italy: MVR 19 million (12 percent)
• UK: MVR 17 million (10 percent)
• Germany: MVR 16 million (10 percent)
• US: MVR 12 million (7 percent)

With the decline in both imports and exports, the country generated MVR 211 million as income from import/export duty in June. It is a 21 percent drop compared to the MVR 266 million generated as import/export duty over the same period last year.

While both imports and exports have declined based on year-on-year comparison, it shows improvement compared to May this year.

As such, imports in June rose by 36 percent, and exports rose by 46 percent compared to May.