Maldives Re-Export Earnings Climb to US$314.9 Million in First Nine Months of 2026
Jet fuel made up more than four-fifths of the total, according to Maldives Monetary Authority figures, while the value of fish exports fell by almost half over the same period.
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The Maldives earned US$314.9 million from re-exports in the first nine months of 2026, up 48.5% from US$212.0 million in the same period of 2025, according to monthly statistics published by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) on 29 October.
Re-exports are mainly jet fuel sold to foreign airlines, the MMA says. Jet fuel re-exports reached US$255.8 million between January and September, up 52.4% from US$167.9 million a year earlier, and made up 81.2% of the total. Other re-exports came to US$59.1 million, compared with US$44.1 million in the first nine months of 2025.
The increase of US$102.9 million came after a flat year. Re-exports for January to September 2025 were only 0.1% higher than in the same months of 2024, the MMA's imports and exports table shows.
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Re-exports were higher than a year earlier in every month of 2026 except January, when they were 9.1% lower. The highest monthly figure was US$50.8 million in March. In September re-exports came to US$29.5 million, 69.6% more than in September 2025, with jet fuel accounting for US$21.1 million.
The same table records the average of Brent, Dubai and WTI crude oil prices, based on World Bank data. The average for January to September 2026 was US$86.6 a barrel, against US$69.2 a year earlier. The monthly average was above US$100 a barrel in April, May and September.
Domestic exports moved the other way. They fell 42.3% to US$65.4 million in the nine months, from US$113.4 million. Fish exports alone dropped 45.2% to US$58.2 million, according to the MMA's composition of exports table.
By volume, fish exports fell 57.8% to 26,363.9 tonnes, from 62,415.9 tonnes in January to September 2025, the MMA's fish export volume table shows. Exports of fresh, chilled or frozen tuna fell 63.7% to 20,324.3 tonnes. Skipjack tuna exports fell to 15,390 tonnes from 49,039 tonnes.
The fall is measured against a strong 2025. Fish export volumes in the first nine months of last year were 94.8% higher than in the same period of 2024, when exports for the full year had roughly halved.
With re-exports rising and fish falling, re-exports made up 82.8% of total merchandise exports in the first nine months of 2026, compared with 65.2% a year earlier. Total exports rose 16.9% to US$380.3 million.
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Imports grew faster than exports. Total merchandise imports reached US$3.35 billion in January to September, 27.8% higher than the US$2.62 billion recorded a year earlier.
Petroleum products accounted for much of the rise. Their imports increased 77.6% to US$908.2 million, according to the MMA's composition of imports table, and diesel imports rose 82.2% to US$712.5 million. A note to the table says that since duty on petroleum products was reinstated in April 2015, these figures include only petroleum products sold in the country.
Imports by public enterprises rose 51.8% to US$940.2 million, while private imports rose 20.0% to US$2.32 billion.
On the MMA's figures, the merchandise trade deficit for the nine months was about US$2.97 billion, compared with about US$2.30 billion in the same period of 2025. This is Maldives Today's calculation, taking total exports from total imports.
The MMA compiles its trade tables from data supplied by the Maldives Customs Service, Maldives Airports Company Limited, Gan International Airport and Maamigili International Airport. A note to the tables says one-off re-exports that do not follow the International Monetary Fund's balance of payments manual (BPM6) have been removed.
