The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced that the trade exchange between Egypt and the BRICS members increased to $30.2bn during the first eight months of this year, compared to $26.2bn in 2023, a growth of 15%.
Russia’s Kazan will host the 16th BRICS Summit from 22 to 24 October.
The group originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Egypt officially joined in January 2024, along with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, and Ethiopia.
According to CAPMAS, Egypt’s exports to the BRICS members grew to $5.7bn during the first eight months of 2024, compared to $5.3bn during the same period in 2023, an increase of 7.3%.
CAPMAS said that Saudi Arabia topped the list of the countries that imported the most from Egypt during that period, as Egyptian exports amounted to $2.2bn, followed by the UAE with $1.8bn, then Brazil with $488m, then Russia with $438m, then India with $343m, and then China with $290m.
It also pointed out that the most important commodity groups exported to these countries included pearls, precious stones and jewellery worth $979m, vegetables and fruits worth $967m, electrical appliances and equipment worth $415m, fuel and mineral oils worth $358m, and iron and steel worth $254m.
On the other hand, the value of Egyptian imports from those countries amounted to $24.5bn during the first eight months of 2024, compared to $20.9bn in 2023, an increase of 17%.
He explained that China topped the list of the bloc’s top exporting countries to Egypt, as the value of Egypt’s imports amounted to $9.8bn, followed by Saudi Arabia with $4.3bn, then Russia with $4.1bn, then Brazil with $2.5bn, then India with $2bn, then Emirates with $1.8bn.
According to the agency, the most important commodity groups imported from these countries included electrical and mechanical equipment and appliances worth $4.2bn, fuel, mineral oils and distillation products worth $3.4bn, grains worth $2.6bn, iron and steel and their byproducts worth $2.2bn, and plastics and their byproducts worth $1.8bn. The agency indicated that the value of BRICS investments in Egypt amounted to $4.4bn in fiscal year 2022/2023, compared to $19.5bn in fiscal year 2021/2022.
Saudi Arabia ranked first in the list of BRICS countries with the highest investment in Egypt during this year, as the value of its investments amounted to $1.8bn, followed by UAE with $1.5bn, then China with $750m, then India with $154.4m, then Russia with $125.9m.
He added that the value of Egyptian investments in the countries of this group amounted to $17.3bn, compared to $22bn. Saudi Arabia ranked first in the list of countries in terms of the value of Egyptian investments in it, as they amounted to $7.8bn, followed by the UAE with $5.2bn, then China with $2.5bn, then Russia with $789.5m, then India with $488.4m.
The agency’s data also revealed that the value of remittances of Egyptians working in BRICS amounted to $10.4bn during the fiscal year 2022/2023, compared to $14.5bn in the fiscal year 2021/2022.
According to the agency, Saudi Arabia came in first place on the list of the bloc’s highest countries in terms of the value of these remittances, as the value of remittances of its workers amounted to $8.3bn, followed by the UAE with $2.1bn, then China with $19.5m, then Russia with $15m, then India with $7.5m.
On the other hand, the volume of remittances of workers from the countries of this group in Egypt amounted to $95m, compared to $103m. The UAE ranked first, as the value of remittances of Emirati workers in Egypt amounted to $35.5m, followed by Saudi Arabia with $26.1m, then India with $23m, then South Africa with $6.1m, then China with $3.5m.