Egypt’s trade deficit reaches $3.95B in August

CAIRO – 14 November 2018: Egypt’s trade deficit increased 8 percent during August 2018, recording $3.95 billion, compared to $3.66 billion in the same month of 2017, according to the state statistics agency CAPMAS.

In July, Egypt marked a trade deficit of $4.10 billion, compared to $3.79 billion in the same month of 2017, with an increase of 8.4 percent.

In its monthly bulletin on foreign trade data, CAPMAS said that exports dropped 12.2 percent to reach $1.98 billion during the month of 2018, compared to $2.26 billion during the month of 2017.

The bulletin attributed the decrease of exports to the decline in the exports of ready-made clothes by 19.3 percent, plastics in primary forms (22.6 percent), pastries and food preparations (5.6percent), and carpets (20.1 percent).

Meanwhile, exports of some other commodities saw an increase in August such as crude oil which increased by 22.5 percent, fertilizers (19.3 percent), Petroleum products (86.2 percent), products of iron and steel (29.2 percent).

As per imports, the bulletin showed an increase of 0.3 percent to hit $5.94 billion in August of the current year, compared to $5.August billion in July 2017.

CAPMAS ascribed this hike to the increase of imports of crude oil by 83.7 percent, primary forms of iron or steel by 0.3 percent, motor vehicles by 29.2 percent, and medicaments and pharmaceutical goods by 2.6 percent.

On the other hand, imports of other commodities showed a decline such as Petroleum products by 8.6 percent, plastics by 6.1 percent, wheat by 31.7 percent, and meat by 15 percent.

Egypt has been witnessing a drop in imports after it floated its currency in late 2016, making Egyptian goods in foreign markets attractively cheaper while doubling the cost of importing.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) stated previously that Egypt’s exports marked an increase of $1.2 billion during the third quarter of 2017/2018, hitting $6.75 billion, compared to $5.55 billion in the same quarter of 2016/2017.