Egypt sees a 10% reduction in trade deficit value for May

Posted on August 14, 2024   |  

Egypt's exports rose by 0.4% to $3.81 billion in May 2024, boosted by increases in fresh fruits, ready-made clothes, and food preparations.

Imports dropped by 5.1% to $7.38 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.57 billion.

The reduction in the trade deficit was helped by lower imports of medicines and chemicals.

Egypt's current account deficit grew to $17.1 billion in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2023-2024, compared to $5.3 billion in the same period last year.

Key export gains included fresh fruits (up 17.4%), ready-made clothes (up 5.5%), and food preparations (up 32.2%).

Some exports fell, such as crude petroleum (down 4.3%), petroleum products (down 17.4%), and plastics (down 10.5%).

Imports of iron or steel, plastics, medicines, and chemicals decreased, with reductions of up to 24.7%.

Increases were seen in imports of petroleum products (up 86.1%), wheat (up 153.6%), and natural gas (up 39.2%), along with a 15.2% rise in passenger cars.

Overall trade figures show a mix of growing exports in certain sectors and declining imports and exports in others.