Trade deficit reaches 4.63bn euros

The trade deficit grew by 1.2 billion euros in May and reached 4.63 billion euros in the first five months of the year. FOB exports made in the January-May period stood at 10.379 billion euros, a 19.8% increase against the similar period of 2005, informs the National Statistics Institute (INS). Imports, however, saw a faster pace of growth, rising 26.2%, and totalling 15.016 billion euros at the end of May. In May, the value of FOB exports was 2.300 billion euros, 29.7% higher than May last year, and CIF imports totalled 3.502 billion euros, 30.9% more than in May 2005. Six of the twenty-two goods categories – machinery and devices, metallurgy, clothing and textiles, mineral products, transportation and footwear – accounted for 78.2% of the total amount of exports. The statistics for imports are almost identical; with the only differences being that chemical products replaced footwear as one of the six predominant groups of imports. The six top import categories accounted for 76.1% of the total imports.