Iron exports record $81M in December

CAIRO - 25 January 2018: Iron and steel exports rose 10 percent in December 2017, recording $81 million, compared to $73 million in December 2016, General Organization for Export and Import Control’s report stated.

Spain ranked first in importing Egyptian iron in December 2017, with a total value of $16.6 million, and the exports to the United States surged 400 percent to reach $11.5 million, compared to $2.3 million in the same period of 2016, the report explained.

Exports to Saudi Arabia increased 89 percent to reach $8.4 million in December 2017, up from $4.4 million in the same period of 2016.

While exports to Turkey and Italy decreased 38 percent and 93 percent to record $3.6 million and $908,000, respectively.

Meanwhile, the country’s overall 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, state-owned statistics agency CAPMAS stated in January.

Exports have benefited from the floatation of the Egyptian pound that lost almost half of its value, making Egyptian goods in foreign markets attractively cheaper while doubling the costs of importing.