Egypt’s trade deficit rises 20.2% to $4.8B in April 2026

CAIRO - 13 July 2026: Egypt’s trade deficit widened by 20.2 percent year-on-year in April 2026, reaching $4.8 billion, compared with $4 billion in the same month of 2025, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics’ monthly foreign trade bulletin.

The deficit increased despite robust export growth, as the value of imports rose at a similarly strong rate.

Egypt’s exports climbed by 21.1 percent to $5.1 billion in April 2026, up from approximately $4.2 billion a year earlier. The growth was driven by a 44.8 percent increase in petroleum product exports, a 30 percent rise in ready-made garments, a 62.6 percent jump in fresh fruit, and a 6.8 percent increase in pasta and miscellaneous food preparations.

Imports, meanwhile, grew by 20.7 percent to $9.9 billion, compared with $8.2 billion in April 2025. The increase reflected higher imports of wheat, which surged by 57.5 percent, copper and copper products by 84.1 percent, plastics in primary forms by 16.3 percent, and iron and steel raw materials by 6.5 percent.

The bulletin also reported a decline in exports of several key commodities. Fertilizer exports fell by 58.4 percent, potato exports dropped by 51.2 percent, and iron product exports decreased by 37.6 percent.

On the import side, petroleum products declined by 4.4 percent, passenger cars by 22.5 percent, organic and inorganic chemicals by 11.1 percent, and refined oils by 6.7 percent.