Egypt’s imports down by $5.2B in 9 months

CAIRO – 9 January 2018: Egypt’s imports from January to September 2017 stood at $47.1 billion, down from $52.4 billion in the same period in 2016, an official report showed Tuesday.

Petroleum imports were $3.8 billion in that period compared to $2.8 billion between January and September 2016, Egypt’s foreign trade bulletin from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) stated.

Egypt imported $5.1 billion worth of raw materials, $17.3 billion worth of intermediary products and $11.2 billion worth of home appliances in that period.

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 last week.

Listing the achievements of the ministry over 2017, Kabil said that Egypt's foreign trade has witnessed improvements, 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.