Egypt's Trade Deficit Eases to $3.38 Bln

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization (CAPMAS) said on Sunday that the trade deficit narrowed 21.9 percent to record $ 3.38 billion last June, with exports rising 4.3 percent and imports falling 13 percent.

Exports rose to $ 2.30 billion in February from $ 2.20 billion a year earlier, CAPMAS said in a statement.

Imports fell to $ 5.68 billion in February from $ 6.53 billion a year earlier, after imports of oil products fell 36.4 percent and iron and steel by 37.3 percent.

The decline in Egypt's imports of petroleum products follows the increase in natural gas production, particularly from the Mediterranean Zohr field, as well as discoveries in northern Alexandria and the Nile Delta.

Also, imports of other goods recorded a drop such as chemicals by 11.4 percent, pharmaceuticals by 28.1 percent, corn by 7.4 percent, and meat by 62.3 percent.

Last May, Egypt's trade deficit dipped to $3.34 billion, compared to $4.42 billion a year earlier, signaling a 24.6 percent drop.

In 2017, Egypt imposed dumping duties on rebar imports from China, Turkey, and Ukraine for five years.

Data indicated that China was the major trading partners with Egypt, with a trade exchange of $ 3.3 billion, of which imports recorded $ 3.1 billion, and exports $ 254.6 million.

The United States came in second place with $ 3 billion, of which $ 1.7 billion were Egyptian imports and $ 1.3 billion were recorded as exports.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked third with a trading volume of $ 2.79 billion.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia came in the fifth spot with a trading volume of $ 2.5 billion, of which $ 2.12 billion were imports. A trading volume of $ 1.86 billion, placed Russia in the eighth spot.