23.2% decrease in trade deficit in March 2024: CAPMAS

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) has released its monthly bulletin on “Foreign Trade Data” for March 2024.

The trade balance deficit reached $2.37bn during March 2024, compared to $3.09bn for the same month in the previous year, representing a 23.2% decrease.

Exports declined by 10.9%, totalling $3.57bn in March 2024, down from $4.0bn in the same month of the previous year. This decrease was primarily due to reduced values of certain commodities, including:

• 
  
  
  
  • Plastics in their primary forms (down by 6.7%)
  
  
  • Fertilizers (decreased by 57.4%)
  
  
  • Iron bars, rods, angles, and wires (down by 1.1%)
  
  
  • Crude oil (decreased by 49.9%)
  
  
  
  

However, some commodities saw an increase in export value during March 2024 compared to the previous year:

• 
  
  
  
  • Petroleum products (up by 130.3%)
  
  
  • Fresh fruits (increased by 7.2%)
  
  
  • Ready-made clothes (rose by 14.2%)
  
  
  • Pasta and various food preparations (grew by 26.8%)
  
  
  
  

Imports decreased by 16.2%, reaching $5.94bn in March 2024, down from $7.09bn in the same month of the previous year. The decline in imports was influenced by reduced values of specific commodities, including:

• 
  
  
  
  • Medicines and pharmaceutical preparations (decreased by 25.6%)
  
  
  • Organic and inorganic chemicals (down by 31.8%)
  
  
  • Plastics in their primary forms (decreased by 31.0%)
  
  
  • Corn (reduced by 15.0%)
  
  
  
  

On the other hand, certain commodities experienced increased import values in March 2024:

• 
  
  
  
  • Petroleum products (up by 44.5%)
  
  
  • Raw materials of iron or steel (increased by 17.7%)
  
  
  • Wheat (rose by 15.8%)
  
  
  • Natural gas (grew by 12.4%)