Egypt’s exports increase 7% in January 2018

CAIRO – 8 April 2018: Egypt’s exports increased seven percent year-on-year in January 2018 to reach $2.15 billion, compared to $2.01 billion in the same month in 2017, the state statistics agency CAPMAS said on Sunday.

In its monthly bulletin on foreign trade data, CAPMAS ascribed the increase to a hike in the exports of some goods, such petroleum products, increasing by 174.9 percent, detergents (31.4%), dairy products (9.7%) and ready-made garments (5.7%).

Meanwhile, exports of some other commodities saw a decline in January such as fertilizers, which decreased by 35.5 percent, Crude oil (18.6%) and fresh orange (7.9%).
January’s imports also saw an increase of 5.1 percent, standing at $5.77 billion, compared to $5.49 billion in the previous year.

This came as a result of increased imports of crude oil by 160.3 percent, wheat by 20.2 percent and plastics by 19 percent, among others.

As a result, the trade deficit in January 2018 increased by four percent, reaching $3.62 billion, versus $3.48 billion in January 2017.

Egypt’s Trade deficit declined 15.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of fiscal year 2017/18, dropping from $21.7 billion to $18.3 billion, Planning Minister Hala al-Saeed said in February.

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.