Egypt’s trade deficit drops 15.4% YoY in October 2017

CAIRO – 11 January 2018: Egypt’s trade deficit dropped 15.4 percent in October 2017 to reach $3.22 billion, compared to $3.79 billion in the same month last year, the state staistics agency CAPMAS said Thursday.

The value of exports increased by 21.5 percent in October 2017, reaching $2.24 billion, compared to $1.85 billion in October 2016, CAPMAS said.

It attributed the rise to an increase in the value of exports of some products, including readymade garments, with a 41.1 percent increase, plastics (39.2%), soap and cleaning products (37.3%).

Meanwhile, exports of some other products declined in October 2017 compared to a year earlier, including fruits, with a 28.3 percent drop, petroleum products (12.7%) and crude (9.5%).

The statistics agency added that imports fell by 3.3 percent in October 2017 to stand at $5.46 billion versus $5.64 billion in October 2016, ascribing this to a drop in imports of some goods, including cars (45.4%), medications (3%), petroleum products (1.5%) and corn (1.4%).

However, imports of other products saw an increase, including iron and steel (19.2%), meat (38.7%) and wheat (11.2%).

Egypt’s 2017 trade deficit fell 26 percent year-on-year by $12 billion, the Trade Ministry said earlier this month.

Imports fell in the first 11 months of 2017 to $51 billion, from $61 billion the same period in 2016, and exports rose to $20.4 billion from $18.4 billion, the ministry said, adding that foreign trade improved thanks to more exports from industries such as chemicals and fertilizer.