Egypt’s exports in 2019 reached $30.5bn, up from $29.3bn in 2018, reflecting an increase of 4.1%, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics’ (CAPMAS) Annual Bulletin of Foreign Trade for 2019.
The total exports value of non-petroleum products reached $25.5bn in 2019, compared to $24.6bn in 2018, reflecting an increase of 3.9%. At the same time, the total value of exports of petroleum products and electricity increased 5.3% to reach $5.0bn in 2019, compared to $4.7bn in 2018.
During 2019, the total value of Egyptian exports, according to their manufacturing status, stood at 43.2% of the country’s total exports. The total value of exports in finished goods decreased 0.4% to reach $13.19bn in 2019, compared to $13.24bn in 2018.
The total value of exports of fuel reached $7.45bn in 2019, compared to $6.67bn in 2018, reflecting an increase of 11.7%.
The most important goods which saw an increase in their exports value are:
The value of gold and gold plated with platinum in other ore forms, which reached $2.0bn in 2019, compared to $1.4bn in 2018, reflecting an increase of 42.5%.
The value of ready-made clothes and related accessories increased 5.4% to reach $1.7bn in 2019, compared to $1.6bn in 2018. The value of natural gas increased 148.7% to reach $1.2bn in 2019, compared to $0.5bn in 2018. The value of plastics and articles increased 1.1% to reach $1.04bn in 2019, compared to $1.02bn in 2018.
The relative distribution according to the most important countries to which Egypt exports include:
The US ranked as Egypt’s most important export destination, accounting for about 7.2% of the latter’s exports. The total value of Egyptian exports to the US increased by 28.1% to $2.2bn in 2019, compared to $1.7bn in 2018.
The UAE ranked in second, accounting for about 6.8 % of Egypt’s exports, with the total value of exports increasing by 2.8 % to reach $2.1bn in 2019, compared with $2.0bn in 2018.
Turkey ranked in third, taking in about 5.7% of Egyptian exports. The total value of exports decreased by 12.8% to reach $1.7bn in 2019, compared to $2.0bn in 2018.
Saudi Arabia ranked in fourth with about 5.5% of Egypt’s exports. The total value of exports increased by 17.7% to reach $1.7bn in 2019, compared to $1.4bn for 2018.
According to economic blocs, Arab countries were the largest importers of Egyptian products, accounting for 33.2% of the total, followed by Western Europe with 25.0%, and Eastern European countries with 13.3%.
The distribution of exports by ports comes as follows:
Alexandria Port ranked as Egypt’s largest base from which exports are sent, accounting for 28.7% of total exports, followed by Cairo International Airport accounting for 20.5%. Suez Port dealt with 15.4%, and Dekheila Port dealt with 6.8%, followed by Damietta Port with 6.1%, and finally 10th of Ramadan with 4.3%.
The total value of Egypt’s imports reached $76.4bn in 2019, compared to $81.9bn in 2018, reflecting a decrease of 6.7%. Non-petroleum product imports decreased 3.8% from $67.0bn in 2019 to $70.0bn in 2018.
Petroleum and Electricity imports decreased 23.4% to $9.4bn in 2019, compared to $12.3bn in 2018.
Egypt’s imports development according to degree usage is as follows:
In 2019, Egyptian imports were concentrated in intermediate goods, which represent 35.7% of the total imports. Imports of intermediate goods recorded a decrease of 11.0% to reach $27.3bn in 2019, compared to $30.7bn in 2018. At the same time, imports of Non-Durable Consumer Commodities increased by 2.4% to reach $14.3bn in 2019, compared to $14.0bn in 2018.
The main imports which saw their value increased are as follows:
The value of iron and iron products decreased by 21.5% to $5.6bn in 2019, compared to $7.2bn in 2018.
Oil Solar reached $3.8bn in 2019, compared to $4.3bn in 2018, reflecting a decrease of 11.3%. The value of plastics and its associated articles amounted to $3.3bn in 2019, compared to $3.6bn in 2018, reflecting a decrease of 7.0%. The value of crude oil decreased by 18.8% to $2.9bn in 2019, compared to $3.5bn in 2018.
The top importing countries to Egypt are as follows:
In 2019, China ranked first providing 15.0% of the total imports to Egypt, which increased by 0.9% to reach $11.7bn dollars in 2019, compared to $11.6bn in 2018.
Saudi Arabia came in second place providing 6.7 % of total imports, which decreased by 10.3% to $5.1bn in 2019, compared to $5.7bn in 2018.
The US came in third place with 6.5% of total imports, which decreased by 8.4% to reach $5.0bn in 2019, compared to $5.5bn in 2018.
Germany came in fourth place with 5.5% of Egypt’s total imports, which increased by 0.9% to reach $4.22bn in 2019, compared to $4.18bn in 2018.
Asian countries ranked as Egypt’s most important source of import, accounting for 28.9% of the total, followed by Western European countries which accounted for 24.1%, then Eastern European countries which account for 17.7%.
The relative distribution of imports by ports:
Alexandria Port ranked first with 39.2% of total imports, followed by Dekheila Port with 16.9%. This was followed by Cairo International Airport with 12.7%, Damietta Port with 10.1%, and Port Said and Ain Sokhna Ports with 7.5% each.
