Egypt’s imports drop $4.1B in first 10 months of 2017

CAIRO – 17 January 2018: Egypt’s imports dropped $4.1 billion year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2017 to stand at $53.88 billion, compared to $58.04 billion in the same period of 2016, the state statistics agency CAPMAS said Wednesday.

The decrease comes on the back of a drop in Egypt’s imports of non-petroleum products, which amounted to $49.6 billion in the first 10 months of 2017, compared to $54.8 billion in 2016, according to CAPMAS figures.

Meanwhile, the country’s imports of petroleum products increased, reaching $4.34 billion in the same period, versus $3.21 billion in 2016.

Egypt’s main imports during these 10 months included raw materials, durable goods and capital goods, according to CAPMAS.

Egypt has been seeing a drop in imports after it floated its currency in late 2016. 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.

Egypt’s exports increased in the first 10 months of 2017, standing at $21.1 billion, compared to $17.85 billion in the same period of 2016, CAPMAS said this week.

Petroleum exports amounted to $1.96 billion in the same period, compared to $1.6 billion a year earlier.

The country’s trade deficit fell 26 percent year-on-year by $12 billion in 2017, the Trade Ministry said earlier this month.

In October 2017 alone, trade deficit dropped 15.4 percent to reach $3.22 billion, compared to $3.79 billion in October 2016.