Egypt recorded a significant boost in exports in April 2025, narrowing its trade deficit and signaling growth despite ongoing global trade headwinds. Egypt’s exports rose 19.8 percent in April 2025 to $4.1 billion, up from $3.43 billion in April 2024, according to figures released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
This surge was largely driven by a 74.3 percent increase in exports of petroleum products, a 24.7 percent increase in ready-made clothes and an 18.4 percent increase in fertilizer exports.
Despite the rise in exports of several commodities from Egypt, natural and liquefied gas exports fell 22.4 percent, while exports of plastic products declined by 6.3 percent.
The strong export figures come amid a government push to incentivize industrial production and attract foreign investment through the National Industrial Development Strategy, which aims to advance Egyptian industry, enhance competitiveness and increase exports.
This strategy forms part of the urgent industrial development plan, which is a practical, executable step towards localizing industry, deepening domestic manufacturing, transforming Egypt into a regional industrial hub, transitioning to a green economy, and increasing the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP and exports, while raising the quality of Egyptian products to the highest standards and improving human resource efficiency.
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On the other hand, Egypt’s imports rose by 4.4 percent in April to $7.53 billion compared to $7.21 billion in April 2024. This modest rise was driven by an increase in imports of petroleum products, natural gas, raw materials of iron or steel, and plastics in their primary forms.
Meanwhile, imports of some commodities decreased in April, including wheat by 37.5 percent, organic and inorganic chemicals by 10.8 percent, corn by 0.5 percent, and pharmaceuticals and medicinal preparations by 5.7 percent.
The major increase in Egypt’s exports led to a notable decline in the country’s trade deficit, which declined from $3.78 billion to $3.42 billion, marking an annual decline of 9.5 percent.
