Egypt’s trade deficit shrinks 10.3 percent to $3.57 billion in May 202

Egypt’s trade balance deficit saw a 10.3 percent decline in May 2024 to $3.57 billion from $3.98 billion in May 2023 mainly due to a significant decline in imports and a slight increase in exports.

In its latest report, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) revealed that the value of exports rose by 0.4 percent to $3.81 billion in May 2024 from $3.79 billion a year earlier. The report attributed this rise to a 17.4 percent increase in fresh fruit exports, a 5.5 percent increase in ready-made clothes, and a 32.2 percent rise in dough and food preparation exports.

Despite the overall rise in Egypt’s exports, some commodities saw a decline in value during May, including crude petroleum exports, which declined 4.3 percent. Exports of petroleum products declined 17.4 percent, fertilizers declined 5.2 percent, and plastics in their primary forms declined 10.5 percent.

Imports fall

Egypt’s trade balance deficit declined in May 2024 particularly due to the 5.1 percent decline in imports to $7.38 billion.

CAPMAS attributes this decline to the 0.3 percent decline in imports of raw materials of iron or steel, the 2.9 percent decline in imports of plastics in their primary forms, and the 24.7 percent decline in imports of medicines and pharmaceutical preparations. Imports of organic and inorganic chemicals also reported a 23.3 percent decline in May.

However, imports of some commodities increased in May 2024 including petroleum products (up 86.1 percent), wheat (up 153.6 percent), natural gas (up 39.2 percent) and passenger cars (up 15.2 percent).

Current account deficit widens

Despite the narrowing trade deficit in May, Egypt’s current account deficit widened in the first nine months of fiscal year FY2023-24 to $17.1 billion, up from $5.3 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Additionally, the oil-trade balance shifted to a deficit of $5.1 billion from a surplus of $1.7 billion, as the decline in oil exports outpaced that of oil imports, according to the Central Bank of Egypt.