Non-petroleum exports hit $6.5bn

Egypt’s non-petroleum exports saw a modest rise of 1.6 percent between January and April 2016, recording $6.5 billion, slightly more than the $6.4 billion figure witnessed during the same period last year.According to the latest economic performance report issued by the Egyptian Foreign Trade Monday, non-petroleum exports to European Union countries reached around $1.7 billion by the end of April 2016, more than the $1.5 billion realized a year earlier, marking a ten percent increase.

Egypt’s exports to Arab countries hit $2.9 billion during the first four months of 2016 compared to $2.8 billion of the same period in 2015 with a four percent increase, the report showed.

Meanwhile, non-Arab African countries accounted for Egypt’s non-petroleum imports with an estimated value of $372 million during the period under review, higher than last year’s $363 million.

Imports from the United States which recorded $422 million between January and April 2015, dropped to $369 million around the same period this year.