Egypt’s exports reach $2B in November 2017: Source

CAIRO – 7 February 2018: Egypt’s exports stood at $2.23 billion in November 2017, a source at Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said Wednesday.

Imports in the same month amounted to $5.09 billion, he added.

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, CAPMAS said in January.

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 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.

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