Egypt’s trade deficit surges to $2.33 billion, driven by decline in gas exports: CAPMAS

Egypt's trade deficit experienced a significant surge of 23.8 percent in April, soaring to $2.33 billion compared to $1.89 billion in April 2022, as reported in the monthly bulletin by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

A steep decline in exports of natural and liquefied gas was a main contributor, plummeting by 75.6 percent.

Egypt's overall exports witnessed a decline of 44.9 percent, totaling $3.03 billion in April compared to the registered $5.5 billion in the same month of the previous year.

Fruit exports experienced a sharp decline of 58.8 percent, while exports of crude oil dropped by 48.2 percent. Additionally, ready-to-wear garments recorded a decline of 34.1 percent, CAPMAS revealed in its bulletin.

Exports of steel bars, wires, and other related products skyrocketed by 568.8 percent on an annual basis in April, while exports of prepared foods and baked goods saw a solid increase of 35.6 percent compared to the previous year.

Egyptian imports displayed a notable slowdown, decreasing by 27.4 percent to reach a value of $5.46 billion. This is a considerable decline from the $7.38 billion recorded in April 2022.

CAPMAS attributed this decline in imports to several key commodities, including a decrease in the wheat imports by 1.4 percent, organic and non-organic chemicals by 2.1 percent, plastics by 33.6 percent, and iron and steel imports by 52.4 percent.

Imports of petroleum products saw a notable increase of 13.8 percent, while corn imports experienced a significant jump of 61.3 percent.