Egypt’s trade balance recorded a deficit of $2.36bn in April, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in its monthly “Foreign Trade Data” bulletin.
The figures compare to the $4.28bn reported in the same month of the previous year, marking a decrease of 45%.
The country’s exports value decreased by 32.3%, reaching $1.84bn during April 2020, versus $2.72bn for the same month of the previous year. The decline was attributed to the decreased value of some commodities, including fertilisers by 9.9%, petroleum products by 69.9%, miscellaneous edible preparations by 15%, and potatoes by 18.6%.
The exports value of some commodities increased during April 2020, compared to the same month of the previous year. This includes commodities such as dairy products by 0.2%, fresh fruits by 20.2%, frozen or chilled vegetables by 3.5 %, and flat rolled iron and steel products by 44.6%.
Egypt’s imports value decreased by 40.1% to $4.19bn during April 2020, against the $7bn reported in the same month of the previous year. The decline was attributed to the decreased value of some commodities, including raw materials of iron or steel at 30.1%, wheat by 45.7 %, medicines and pharmaceuticals by 10.4%, and plastics in primary form by 35.7%.
Imports of some commodities increased in April, such as corn by 2.0 %, refined oils by 6.6%, newsprint and printing by 6.8%, and external tires and inner tubes by 0.9%.
