According to the ministry of trade and industry’s data, Egypt’s imports registered $49b during the first nine months of 2018 (9M18), with an increase by 6.2%, compared to the same period of 2017, while exports reached $18bn by the end of September, compared to $16bn during the same period of 2017, with a 10% increase.
Engineering, chemical and building material sectors represented 46% of Egypt’s imports, while products of these sectors accounted for 54% of exports.
In the meantime, mineral and chemical, agricultural, electrical equipment, and base metals’ products were the top prevailing Egyptian imports, according to official data.
For mineral and chemical products, 25% of all imports are represented by chemical products, which is a quarter of all the imports produced by Egypt. Since mineral and chemical products are not sufficiently produced in Egypt, the demand for these types of goods is still high. As an importer or exporter, this is a great opportunity to consider, as mineral and chemical products also sell for good prices, and they are easy to transport from one location to another.
As for agricultural products, they represent around 24% of all Egyptian imports. The most popular agricultural products are mainly wheat, maize, and meat. Meat is highly consumed in Egypt, and its price tends to remain elevated compared to other foodstuffs.
Meanwhile, base metals represent about 13% of the total imports volume each year. This is not a precious type of metal but it is very useful when for building or forging purposes. Base metals tend to be important in a variety of industries which is why they can are very popular in Egypt.
For their part, rawhides, wood, paper-making products, textiles, and footwear represent around 9.5% of the imports’ volume, whereas artificial resins and rubber represent only 6% of the imports’ volume.
