Egypt's Imports of Raw Materials Drop 17%

The value of Egypt's imports of raw materials dropped by 17 percent to record $ 512.152 million last January, compared to $ 617.786 million a year earlier.

According to data published by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), imports of wheat fell by 32 percent to record $ 155.863 million from $ 229.59 million.

Tobacco imports also fell 63 percent to reach $ 8.183 million last January from $ 22.134 million a year earlier. Sesame oil imports declined 24.5 percent to record $ 5.417 million against $ 7.178 million in January 2018.

Imports of soybeans declined 19.8 percent at $ 72.456 million, while marble and granite witnessed a significant drop to record $ 2.89 million, compared to $ 6.561 million, a decline of 55.9 percent.

In addition, Crude sulfur also dropped by 47.6 percent to record $ 11.938 million. Likewise, the value of maize imports declined to reach $ 129.556 million, down by 4.5 percent. Furthermore, Chinese clay fell by 23.9 percent to record $ 2.559 million last January.

However, Imports of aluminum raw materials rose by 2.551 percent to record $ 1.697 million compared to $ 1.697 million in the same month last year. Iron ore also increased by 49.6 percent to reach $ 67.824 million compared to $ 45.324 million.

In 2018, The overall value of Egypt's imports of raw materials rose by 17 percent, reaching $ 8.082 billion from $ 6.91 billion a year earlier.