The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) has released its monthly bulletin on “Foreign Trade Data” for March 2024.
The trade balance deficit reached $2.37bn during March 2024, compared to $3.09bn for the same month in the previous year, representing a 23.2% decrease.
Exports declined by 10.9%, totalling $3.57bn in March 2024, down from $4.0bn in the same month of the previous year. This decrease was primarily due to reduced values of certain commodities, including:
- Plastics in their primary forms (down by 6.7%)
- Fertilizers (decreased by 57.4%)
- Iron bars, rods, angles, and wires (down by 1.1%)
- Crude oil (decreased by 49.9%)
However, some commodities saw an increase in export value during March 2024 compared to the previous year:
- Petroleum products (up by 130.3%)
- Fresh fruits (increased by 7.2%)
- Ready-made clothes (rose by 14.2%)
- Pasta and various food preparations (grew by 26.8%)
Imports decreased by 16.2%, reaching $5.94bn in March 2024, down from $7.09bn in the same month of the previous year. The decline in imports was influenced by reduced values of specific commodities, including:
- Medicines and pharmaceutical preparations (decreased by 25.6%)
- Organic and inorganic chemicals (down by 31.8%)
- Plastics in their primary forms (decreased by 31.0%)
- Corn (reduced by 15.0%)
On the other hand, certain commodities experienced increased import values in March 2024:
- Petroleum products (up by 44.5%)
- Raw materials of iron or steel (increased by 17.7%)
- Wheat (rose by 15.8%)
- Natural gas (grew by 12.4%)
