Egypt’s trade deficit declined by 2.5 percent in April 2024 to $2.68 billion from $2.75 billion in April 2023. The latest data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reveals that the value of exports rose 0.8 percent to $3.29 billion in April from $3.26 billion a year earlier.
The statistics agency attributes this increase to higher values of certain exported goods, including petroleum products which rose 16.3 percent, ready-made garments which increased by 31.4 percent, pastes and food preparations which jumped 45 percent, and pharmaceuticals which surged by 64 percent.
However, some export values declined, including fresh fruits which declined by 6 percent, fertilizers which were down 35.6 percent, primary plastic forms which inched down 4 percent, and crude oil which fell 67.6 percent.
Another factor contributing to the decline in Egypt’s trade deficit is the 0.7 percent decline in import values during April 2024. Egypt’s imports declined from $6.01 billion in April 2023 to $5.97 billion in April 2024. CAPMAS attributed this decline to lower import values of multiple goods.
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The import value of primary plastic forms declined by 11.4 percent, organic and inorganic chemicals by 17.4 percent, pharmaceuticals by 9.4 percent, and corn by 33.1 percent.
However, the import value of some goods saw a notable surge. The import value of petroleum products rose 32.5 percent, wheat was up 45.2 percent, raw iron or steel materials rose 28.6 percent while natural gas import values increased by 30.7 percent in April.
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