Malta’s trade with the Commonwealth countries rose to a total of €1.2 billion euro in 2013, an increase of €0.7 million from the 2012 level.Both imports and exports contributed to this increase. Imports from Commonwealth states at €680.3 million surpassed exports by €182.6 million. In 2012, the trade balance in favour of all Commonwealth countries stood at €190.3 million.Imports from all Commonwealth countries in 2013 represented 15.3% of all imports. At €497.7 million, sales of goods from Malta to the same countries made up 12.9% of all exports. In 2013, the UK retained its position as the major import partner with 44% of all imports from Commonwealth countries emanating from the British market. Canada, India and Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa were the next biggest sources of imports from the Commonwealth countries.As far as exports are concerned, Singapore represents Malta’s major export commonwealth market with sales to this country representing 55% of the island’s exports. Other export products were mainly despatched to the UK, India and Canada followed by Nigeria, South Africa, New Zealand and various African countries.Commonwealth developing countries are becoming increasingly important as export destinations which include the dynamic emerging markets of Singapore, India, Malaysia and South Africa. It is clear that there is a lot of still untapped trade potential in the emerging Commonwealth markets especially those in Africa and Asia.Table 1: Malta's Trade with Commonwealth Countries in 2012 and 2013
| Country | Imports 2012(EUR) | Exports 2012(EUR) | Imports 2013(EUR) | Exports 2013(EUR) | |
| America | Canada | 56,726,236 | 26,802,867 | 103,745,784 | 27,682,975 |
| Others* | 8,425,950 | 114,464 | 151,582 | 4,736,468 | |
| Europe | United Kingdom | 359,430,293 | 124,073,419 | 300,743,839 | 107,386,251 |
| Cyprus | 9,710,811 | 2,026,208 | 6,503,625 | 1,394,748 | |
| Asia | Singapore | 76,879,145 | 246,587,257 | 80,805,219 | 272,157,715 |
| India | 74,619,701 | 15,001,095 | 86,922,035 | 31,491,020 | |
| Malaysia | 13,973,747 | 1,418,005 | 17,643,555 | 488,742 | |
| Others* | 3,465,069 | 10,446,669 | 1,292,104 | 3,773,239 | |
| Pacific | Australia | 30,575,289 | 3,971,315 | 12,305,169 | 8,109,328 |
| New Zealand | 3,333,466 | 886,114 | 5,555,024 | 1,084,613 | |
| Others* | 433,399 | 1,391,961 | 147,058 | 552,871 | |
| Africa | Nigeria | 34,836 | 53,451,844** | 134,576 | 7,890,889 |
| South Africa | 1,993,472 | 3,253,993 | 13,314,695 | 4,701,519 | |
| Kenya | 287,523 | 477,781 | 181,292 | 775,632 | |
| Others* | 3,212,597 | 24,617,018 | 50,437,983*** | 25,327,980 | |
| Caribbean | Trinidad and Tobago | 52,667 | 122,952 | 52,455 | 67,798 |
| Jamaica | - | 3,227 | 1,122 | 22,544 | |
| Others* | 8,667,916 | 325,235 | 323,767 | 1, 594,618 | |
| Total | 651,822,117 | 461,519,580 | 680,260,664 | 497,664,322 |
Source: National Statistics Office* Others are - America: Belize, Guyana; Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; Pacific: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu; Africa: Botswana, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia; Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines.** Out of which €46,356,608 represent re-exports of mineral fuels.*** Out of which imports of €46.4 million represent mineral fuels from Cameroon Table 2: Share of Commonwealth and EU Trade in Total Malta’s Trade in 2012 and 2013
| Imports 2012(EUR million) | Exports 2012(EUR million) | Imports 2013(EUR million) | Exports 2013(EUR million) | |
| Malta’s trade with Commonwealth countries | 651.8 | 461.5 | 680.3 | 497.7 |
| Malta’s trade with EU countries | 3,946.0 | 1,295.8 | 3,208.3 | 1,215.1 |
| Malta’s total trade with All countries | 6,183.3 | 5,601.0 | 4,438.6 | 3,844.8 |
| Share of Commonwealth trade in Malta’s Total trade | 16.5 | 8.2 | 15.3 | 12.9 |
| Share of EU in Malta’s Total trade | 63.8 | 23.1 | 72.2 | 31.3 |