Selling into Malta through distributors

How the market buys

Malta is a small market, and its procurement rules are set nationally in the Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03). A Director of Contracts heads the Department of Contracts and is responsible for regulating and administering procurement procedures; the regulations then list, in separate schedules, the contracting authorities that fall within the Department's competence, those that administer their own procurement under the same rules, and the central purchasing bodies.

Procedures are run electronically on ePPS at etenders.gov.mt, a web-based system that covers the whole tendering lifecycle for buyers and suppliers, for works, services and supplies, above and below the EU thresholds.

Language is straightforward. Under article 5 of the Constitution, Maltese is the national language, Maltese and English are both official languages, and the Administration may use either for official purposes. The ePPS portal itself runs in English. In our analysis of TED award notices for supplies (September 2026), 92% of the winners in the 270 notices from buyers in Malta were companies registered in the country (96% across the 30 EU and EEA countries); those local winners include distributors and dealers as well as manufacturers' own local subsidiaries — see our methodology. The practical route for a foreign manufacturer is a Maltese distributor or agent that can invoice locally, hold stock and provide service quickly.

Lawful first contact

Malta requires written consent, and it says so for companies explicitly. Regulation 9(1) of the Processing of Personal Data (Electronic Communications Sector) Regulations (S.L. 586.01) prohibits using a public electronic communications service for an unsolicited direct-marketing communication by automatic calling machine, fax or electronic mail to a subscriber or user, "irrespective of whether such subscriber or user is a natural person or legal person", unless the subscriber or user has given prior consent in writing.

The Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC) summarises the rule the same way: no marketing e-mail without the intended recipient's prior consent, subject to one exception. Regulation 9(2) allows a business to market its own similar products to customers whose e-mail address it obtained in a sale, provided they can object free of charge at collection and in every message. Regulation 9(4) prohibits marketing e-mail that disguises the sender or gives no valid address for opting out.

Other channels are treated differently. Regulation 9(3) allows direct marketing by means other than automated calls, fax and e-mail, provided communications stop when the recipient asks; the IDPC notes that calls with human intervention are permissible if requests not to be contacted again are respected.

What works: a letter by post to the owner or managing director, with a one-page sheet on your range and a clear reason why it fits what the distributor already sells; a visit timed with a trade event; an introduction through a chamber, a business association or an existing partner; and a fast, complete reply to any enquiry. Once a distributor has written to you, e-mail is fine.

What local distributors expect

• Documentation in English, one of Malta's official languages: technical sheets, instructions, safety information and price lists, ready for tender files.
• Conformity evidence for the category — CE marking and declarations where the product is regulated, and test reports against the standards buyers specify.
• A commercial structure sized for a small market: margin, exclusivity for Malta and Gozo, minimum order quantities that make sense at Maltese volumes, and who holds stock.
• Logistics planned for an island: shipping time, consolidation with other orders, and spare parts held locally where buyers need fast service.
• References and samples.

How to enter, step by step

1. Read the record for your categories. Choose the CPV codes that describe your range and look at Maltese contract award notices on TED for the larger contracts; procedures above and below the thresholds run on ePPS at etenders.gov.mt, in English. Note which local distributors and agents win repeatedly.
2. Check who buys centrally. Schedule 4 of S.L. 601.03 names two central purchasing bodies, the Department of Contracts and the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), and contracting authorities may buy through the contracts, dynamic purchasing systems and framework agreements they set up. If your category is covered by one, the companies on that agreement are the ones to approach.
3. Prepare the English file. Have technical sheets, instructions, safety information and price lists in English, ready for a distributor to put into a tender file.
4. Assemble conformity evidence. CE marking and declarations of conformity where the product is regulated, test reports against the standards buyers specify, references and samples.
5. Make the first contact without e-mail. Send a letter by post to the owner or managing director with a one-page sheet on your range and a clear reason why it fits what the distributor already sells, or ask for an introduction through a chamber, a business association or an existing partner. A call with a human caller is permissible if you respect a request not to be contacted again; e-mail only once the distributor has written to you.
6. Prepare the first meeting. Bring a commercial structure sized for a small market — margin, exclusivity for Malta and Gozo, minimum order quantities at Maltese volumes and who holds stock — and a logistics plan covering shipping time, consolidation and spare parts held locally.
7. Follow the results. For contracts above the EU thresholds, regulation 43 requires the award notice within 30 days of the contract or framework agreement, so you can see when a distributor you work with wins and plan the next step together.

Where the evidence comes from

Above the EU thresholds — EUR 140,000 for supplies and services bought by central government bodies and EUR 216,000 for other public authorities from 1 January 2026 — Maltese buyers must publish contract award notices on TED, the online supplement to the Official Journal of the EU. Each notice names the winning company and carries CPV codes, so the distributors that repeatedly win, for example, hospital supplies or school equipment contracts can be identified from the public record. Procedures above and below the thresholds run on ePPS.

Cresques reads the award notices for the CPV categories you choose and shows who already sells that category in Malta. It does not help you bid for the contracts; the notices are evidence of who the buyers already trust, and the lawful first contact above is how you reach them.