Egyptian exports experienced a 9.6% increase in value during December 2024, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. The agency released its monthly “Foreign Trade Data” bulletin on Monday.
The value of exports reached $3.96bn in December 2024, compared to $3.61bn during the same month the previous year. This rise was attributed to increased values in several key commodities: petroleum products (128.5%), fresh fruits (23.4%), ready-made clothes (17.6%), and pastries and other food preparations (37.1%).
However, some commodities saw a decrease in export value during December 2024 compared to December 2023. These included fertilisers (47.6%), crude petroleum (66.2%), dry beans (3.5%), and furniture (6.0%).
The total value of imports also increased, rising by 11.3% to $8.11bn in December 2024, compared to $7.28bn during the same month the previous year. This increase was driven by higher values for commodities such as natural gas (105.2%), passenger cars (17.0%), corn (38.6%), and plastics in their primary forms (15.8%).
Conversely, imports of some commodities decreased in December 2024 compared to the same month the previous year. These included petroleum products (23.6%), raw materials of iron or steel (12.9%), medicines and pharmaceutical preparations (22.3%), and wheat (14.9%).
The bulletin also indicated that Egypt’s trade deficit reached $4.15bn during December 2024, compared to $3.67bn for the same month the previous year, representing an increase of 13.0%.
