Egypt’s April exports rise 21.1%, trade deficit widens – CAPMAS

Egypt’s exports rose 21.1 per cent year-on-year in April, driven by higher shipments of petroleum products, ready-made garments and fresh fruit, while rising imports widened the country’s trade deficit, official data showed on Monday.

Exports increased to $5.1 billion in April from $4.2 billion a year earlier, while imports rose to $9.9 billion from $8.2 billion, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

As a result, the trade deficit widened 20.2 per cent to $4.8 billion in April, compared with $4.0 billion in the same month of 2025.

Export growth was driven by a 44.8 per cent rise in petroleum product shipments, a 30.0 per cent increase in ready-made garments, a 62.6 per cent jump in fresh fruit exports, and a 6.8 per cent rise in food pastes and miscellaneous food preparations.

Exports of fertilisers fell 58.4 per cent, while shipments of iron bars, rods, angles, and wire dropped 37.6 per cent. Potato exports declined 51.2 per cent, and dried legume exports fell 4.4 per cent.

On the import side, purchases of wheat rose 57.5 per cent, while imports of copper and copper products increased 84.1 per cent. Imports of raw iron and steel materials climbed 6.5 per cent, and plastics in primary forms rose 16.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, imports of petroleum products fell 4.4 per cent, while purchases of organic and inorganic chemicals declined 11.1 per cent. Passenger car imports dropped 22.5 per cent, and refined oil imports decreased 6.7 per cent.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English