Egypt's trade deficit declines to $3.38B in June

CAIRO - 5 September 2019: Egypt’s trade deficit dropped 21.9 percent during June 2019, recording $3.38 billion, compared to $4.33 billion in the same month of 2018, according to the state's statistics agency CAPMAS.

In its monthly bulletin on foreign trade data, CAPMAS said that exports rose 4.3 percent to reach $2.3 billion in June 2019, compared to $2.2 billion during the same month of 2018.

The bulletin attributed the increase of exports to the rise in the exports of petroleum products by 86 percent, crude oil by 20.2 percent, fresh fruits by 115.3 percent, and ready-made garments by 12.3 percent.

Meanwhile, exports of some other commodities witnessed a decline in June such as fertilizers which decreased by 11 percent, pasta and various food preparations by 15.1 percent, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations by 7.4 percent, and soap and cleaning preparations by 53.9 percent.

As per imports, the bulletin showed a decline of 13 percent to hit $5.68 billion in June of the current year, compared to $6.53 billion in June 2018.

CAPMAS ascribed this increase to the rise in imports of petroleum products by 36.4 percent, raw materials of iron or steel by 37.3 percent, wheat by 22.3 percent, plastics by 1.6 percent, and motor vehicles by 31.6 percent.

On the other hand, imports of other commodities showed a drop such as organic and non-organic chemicals by 11.4 percent, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations by 28.1 percent, corn by 7.4 percent, and meat by 62.3 percent.

In May, Egypt's trade balance deficit declined to $3.34 billion, compared to $4.42 billion in May of 2018, marking a drop of 24.6 percent