Egyptian exports covered 36.7% of imports in September

CAIRO - 1 January 2018: Egypt's exports slightly increased in September to reach $741.1 million, up from $739.8 million in September 2016, the country's statistics body said Monday.

At the same time, imports hiked as well to $642 million in that month, compared to $603.9 million in September 2016, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) showed in the report.

As per these numbers, Egyptian exports covered 36.7 percent of imports in September.

Egypt’s trade balance was one of the beneficiaries from the flotation of the Egyptian pound late last year. The move, resulting in the pound losing almost half its value, made Egyptian goods in foreign markets attractively cheaper, while doubling the cost of importing.

The deficit in the trade balance slumped $12.23 billion (37 percent) in the first eight months of 2017, to stand at $20.1 billion compared to $32.4 billion in the same period in 2016, according to Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Kabil.

Non-petroleum exports in that period increased 11 percent to register $15 billion, compared to $13.5 billion from January to August last year; while non-petroleum imports declined from $45.5 billion to $35.1 billion in the same period, marking a 23-percent decrease.