Trade exchange bet. Egypt, COMESA states hit $2.31B in 2018

CAIRO - 20 June Trade exchange between Egypt and states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) hit $2.31 billion in 2018, with an increase of 41 percent compared to 2017, the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) announced.

In a report issued on Thursday on trade and economic ties between Egypt and the COMESA countries, head of the Egyptian trade representation office in Lusaka Ahmed el Deeb said Egypt's trade balance achieved a surplus of $730 million, against $631 million in 2017.

Egypt's exports to the COMESA states stood at $1.52 billion in 2018, marking an increase of $386 million, he added.

He went on to say that plastic products topped the list of Egypt's exports to the COMESA countries with a total value of $103 million, versus $65 million in 2017, followed by the products of mills, barley, starch, insulin, and gluten, with a combined amount of $91 million, against $46 million in 2017.

Egypt's imports from the COMESA states in 2018 hit $792 million, compared to $505 million in 2017, with an increase of about $287 million.