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Egypt exports down 12.2%, imports up slightly in August

November 15, 2018 at 11:00 am

Egyptian stall in Cairo, Egypt on 4 February 2014 [Laura Cuttier/Flickr]

Egyptian exports fell by 12.2 per cent to reach $1.98 billion in August compared to $2.26 billion in the same period last year, according to a report issued yesterday by the state-run statistics agency.

The monthly bulletin of foreign trade data issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) indicated that the decline in total Egyptian exports was due to the drop in the exports of some commodities, most importantly ready-made clothes which dropped by 19.3 per cent; plastic in primary forms, by 22.6 per cent; pastries and miscellaneous food preparations by 5.6 per cent; and carpets by 20.1 per cent.

According to CAPMAS, exports of some commodities rose compared to the same month of the previous year. Crude oil exports rose 22.5 per cent, fertilizers by 19.3 per cent, petroleum products by 86.2 per cent, and iron and steel products by 29.2 per cent.

The trade deficit recorded $3.95 billion in August compared to $3.66 billion in the same month last year, marking an increase of 0.8 per cent.

On the other hands, the imports of some goods declined compared to 2017, such as petroleum products which declined by 8.6 per cent, plastics in their primary forms by 6.1 per cent, wheat by 31.7 per cent, and meat by 15 per cent.

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