Egypt’s trade balance deficit falls by 68% in Jan. ’24

Egypt’s trade balance deficit fell by 68 per cent in January 2024, a significant improvement, the Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement said that the Egyptian commodity exports surged to $3.12 billion in January 2024, up from $2.887 billion in January 2023. Meanwhile, commodity imports decreased by 40 per cent to $4.476 billion in January 2024, down from $7.520 billion during the same month in 2023.

These positive indicators reflected a 68 per cent decline in the trade deficit in January this year, which dropped to $1.464 billion, from $4.634 billion in the same month last year.

In January, the top markets for Egyptian exports were Turkey ($292 million), Saudi Arabia ($263 million), Italy ($173 million), the UAE ($169 million), the U.S. ($168 million), and Libya ($162 million), according to the same statement.

The main exports were building materials ($624 million), agricultural produce ($467 million), chemical and fertiliser products ($421 million), food industries ($408 miilion), electronics ($356 million), and ready-made garments ($258 million).