Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) released its monthly report on foreign trade statistics for July 2023. The trade balance deficit for that period amounted to $2.93 billion, marking a 23.2 percent decrease compared to the previous year’s figure of $3.82 billion for the same month.
Read more: Egypt’s trade balance deficit rises to $4.2 bn
Exports experienced in July a decline of 10.9 percent, amounting to $3.1 billion, as compared to $3.47 billion for the same month in the previous year. This decrease can be attributed to a drop in the export values of several commodities, particularly fertilizer by 37 percent, petroleum products by 70.7 percent, natural gas and liquefied by 94.8 percent, and furniture by 46.7 percent.
There were increases in the exports of certain goods in July compared to the same month in the previous year. The notable expansion were observed in the exports of crude petroleum by 6.1 percent, ready-to-wear by 4.8 percent, primary credits by 4.8 percent, and bones and various food preparations by 36.4 percent.
Imports experienced a significant decline of 17.3 percent, totaling $6.03 billion, in comparison to $7.29 billion for July 2022.
Findings revealed there was a notable surge of 22.1 percent in the imports of certain goods in July, compared to the same month of the previous year. The most significant rises were observed in imports of medicines and pharmaceuticals, which increased by 154.2 percent. Additionally, imports of wheat saw a substantial increase of 137.3 percent, followed by ride-hailing cars at 52.6 percent and natural gas at 22.1 percent.
Lowering essential goods prices
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Monday that his government is collaborating with the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and Industry federations to actively work towards lowering the prices of essential goods.
During a televised press conference, he stated that an agreement has been reached to decrease the prices of seven significant commodity groups by 15 percent to 25 percent. These groups include beans, lentils, pasta, sugar, dairy products, oils, poultry products, rice, and eggs. The initiative is set to commence on the upcoming Saturday, 14 October.
Madbouly expressed that the government has made the decision to temporarily waive duties and customs on several production supplies for a duration of six months in order to lower prices. He acknowledged that inflation is a global issue and emphasized that the government is actively seeking solutions to mitigate its impact.
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