Trade deficit widens in 2008

CYPRUS’ TRADE deficit expanded to €6.16 billion in 2008, recording an increase of €890 million compared to 2007, according to preliminary figures of the Statistical Service.

The total value of Cyprus’ imports reached €7.32 billion in 2008, while total exports were €1.16 billion euro.

On the basis of preliminary estimates for Foreign Trade in December 2008, total imports accounted for €497.5 million, of which €339.5 million came from EU member states and €158 million from third countries.

Total exports amounted to €92.1 million, of which €49.5 million went to other EU countries and €42.6 million worth was exported to third countries.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.