Egypt's non-oil trade balance deficit records $30.7B during 9 months

CAIRO – 30 June 2021: Egypt’s non-oil trade deficit increased 12.7 percent or $3.7 billion, during March 2021, recording $30.7 billion, compared to $27.3 billion in the same month of 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.

The rise came as a result of the increase in payments for non-oil merchandise imports that exceeded the increase in receipts from non-oil merchandise exports, as payments rose by about $4.5 billion to record $45.4 billion.

The increase in imports was concentrated in medicines, medical sterilizers to counter the Coronavirus crisis, corn, auto parts, tractors and railway locomotives.

While the increase in non-oil merchandise exports was limited to about $1 billion, to record $14.6 billion, most of which came in exports of electrical appliances for home use, wires and cables.

The period witnessed an improvement in the performance of the Egyptian economy’s transactions with the outside world, as the balance of payments achieved a total surplus of $1.8 billion, compared to a deficit of $5.1 billion in the comparable period of the fiscal year 2019-2020.

While current transactions in the balance of payments resulted in a deficit of $13.3 billion, compared to $7.3 billion in the comparative period, as a result of tourism revenues being limited to less than a third of what was achieved in the corresponding period as a result of the impact of the coronavirus crisis.