Exports expected to close at $22.4B, imports at $56B in 2017

CAIRO – 1 January 2018: Egyptian exports are expected to stand at $22.4 billion at the end of 2017, with a 10-percent increase compared to the previous year, Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Kabil said in a Monday report.

Listing the achievements of the ministry over 2017, Kabil said that Egypt's foreign trade has witnessed improvements over the past year, as exports were $20.4 billion in the first 11 months, up from $18.4 billion in the same period of 2016.

Meanwhile, imports have seen a major decline in those 11 months, standing at $51 billion, compared to $61 billion in the same period of the previous year. For the whole year, imports are predicted to be $56 billion, compared to $66 billion in 2016.

The biggest improvements in exports came in the sectors of chemical industries, ready-made garments, fertilizers, engineering industries, textiles and food industries. Declines in imports were seen in the aforementioned sectors as well.

Egypt’s balance of payments (BOP) registered a surplus of $13.7 billion in fiscal year 2016/17, after a $2.8 billion overall deficit in the preceding fiscal year, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

Non-petroleum exports hiked 15.9 percent year-on-year in that period to stand at $21.7 billion.