Egypt’s exports reach $21B in first 10 months of 2017

CAIRO – 14 January 2018: Egypt’s exports stood at $21.1 billion in the first 10 months of 2017, compared to $17.85 billion in the same period of 2016, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said Sunday.

Petroleum exports amounted to $1.96 billion in the same period, compared to $1.6 billion a year earlier.

Egypt’s most important exports in the first 10 months of 2017 included fuel, with exports worth $3.7 billion, cotton ($58 million) and raw materials ($17.1 billion), according to CAPMAS.

Exports have benefited from the floatation of the Egyptian pound. The move, resulting in the pound losing almost half its value, made Egyptian goods in foreign markets attractively cheaper while doubling the cost of importing.

This in turn has been beneficial for the country’s trade deficit, which fell 26 percent year-on-year by $12 billion in 2017, the Trade Ministry said earlier this month.

Imports fell in the first 11 months of 2017 to $51 billion, from $61 billion the same period in 2016, and exports rose to $20.4 billion from $18.4 billion, the ministry said, adding that foreign trade improved thanks to more exports from industries such as chemicals and fertilizer.

In October alone, trade deficit dropped 15.4 percent to reach $3.22 billion, compared to $3.79 billion in the same month last year, CAPMAS said this month.