Egypt merchandise exports up by 9.8% in first 5 months of 2024

Minister Samir said Egyptian exports achieved a monthly hike of $3.5 billion in May, marking the strongest performance for the country's exports in a single month.

The largest markets for Egyptian exports during this period included Saudi Arabia with $1.391 billion worth of goods, Turkey with $1.31 billion, the UAE with $1.133 billion, Italy with $974 million, and the US with $904 million, according to Samir.

The minister noted that Egypt has exported building materials worth $3.8 billion, food industries worth $2.6 billion, chemical products and fertilizers worth $2.4 billion, engineering and electronic goods worth $2.1 billion, ready-made clothing worth $1.7 billion, and crops worth $2.2 billion.

Moreover, the exports included furnishings, yarn, and textiles totalling $717 million; printing and packaging products, papers, books, and artistic works totalling $393 million; and medical industries totalling $267 million.

They also included furniture worth $112 million; handicrafts worth $87 million; and leather, shoes, and leather products worth $49 million.

Samir added that opening several factories during the last period, especially in the engineering industry sector, has contributed to this increase in exports.

Egypt is exerting efforts to boost annual exports and lower import spending to bolster the hard currency reserves and shrink the trade deficit.

The government targets collecting $191 billion by 2026, mainly through merchandise exports, tourism, and Suez Canal revenues, with an annual target of $100 billion from merchandise exports alone.

In 2023, Egypt’s non-oil exports reached $35.631 billion, while its imports amounted to nearly $66 billion.