Egypt’s trade balance deficit drops 48.2 percent in February 2023, CAPMAS

CAIRO, 03 May 2023: Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS)’s data released today showed that the value of the trade balance deficit decreased during February 2023 by 48.2 percent, to reach $2.1 billion, compared to $4.06 billion compared to February 2022.

Egyptian exports declined by 22.2 percent reaching $3.44 billion in February 2023, compared to $4.42 billion in February 2022.

This drop is due to the decrease in the value of exports of some commodities. These include natural and liquefied gas by 33.3 percent, fertilizers by 24.9 percent, petroleum products by 69.1 percent, and plastics in their primary forms by 11.8 percent.

The value of exports of some commodities increased during the same period, including fresh fruits by 1 percent, ready-made clothes by 0.1 percent, various pasta and food preparations by 55.5 percent, and iron bars, sticks, angles and wires by 534.6 percent.

Earlier this week, Egypt's net foreign assets (NFAs) deficit witnessed a 7.3 percent increase in March 2023, according to Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) data.

On the other side, Egypt’s value of imports decreased by 34.7 percent during February 2023, recording $5.54 billion, compared to $8.48 billion in February last month.

This is due to the decrease in the value of imports of commodities such as iron or steel raw materials by 54.9 percent, plastics in their primary forms by 48.6 percent, medicines and pharmaceuticals by 36.1 percent, and wheat by 4.7 percent.

However, the value of imports of some commodities increased during the same period, such as petroleum products by 18.1 percent, natural gas by 70 percent, crude oil by 75.1 percent, and coal by 6.7 percent.