Egypt’s non-oil commodity exports decrease by 17% in H1 2023

CAIRO - 8 August 2023: Egypt's non-oil commodity exports decreased in the first half of 2023 to about $16 billion, compared to $19.3 billion in 2022, a 17 percent decrease, Ashraq Bloomberg reported citing an unnamed government official.

The unnamed source stated the reasons of the decline in exports are "the lack of raw materials and production components necessary for the production process, and the repercussions of the global crisis."

The commodity exports that witnessed the most decline were printing, packaging, as well as paper, books and artistic works, with a 30% decrease, bringing the proceeds to about $425 million, then exports of chemical products and fertilizers, with a 28% decrease to reach $3.3 billion dollars.

Commodity exports during the first half of 2022 amounted to about $17.983 billion, while exports in the whole of last year amounted to about $35.6 billion.

Earlier on Sunday, The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) declared that Egypt's foreign exchange reserves surged by $72 million during the preceding month of July. The CBE also stated that foreign exchange reserves increased to approximately $34.878 billion at the end of July, in contrast to $34.806 billion at the end of June.

The primary purpose of the foreign exchange reserve, encompassing its holdings of gold and diverse international currencies, is to supply commodities, settle interest payments on external debts, and manage economic crises.