The trade balance deficit amounted to $1.93 billion in December 2022, compared to around $4.2 billion recorded in December 2021, driven by a 28% drop in the value of imports
Egypt’s trade balance deficit fell by 54% in December 2022 compared to December 2021, marking its largest decline in 2022, according to the latest data by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The trade balance deficit amounted to $1.93 billion in December 2022, compared to around $4.2 billion recorded in December 2021, driven by a 28% drop in the value of imports to record around $6.11 billion, compared to $8.49 billion the year before.
CAPMAS attributed the decrease to a decline in the value of imports of certain commodities, including petroleum products which dropped by 7.2%, medicines and pharmaceuticals by 16.2%, plastics in their primary forms by 48.8%, and wheat by 28.4%.
The statistics agency also noted that the value of some imports did rise during December, including natural gas by 82.5%, wood and its articles by 8.5%, pipes, pipes and their fittings of iron or steel by 16.2%, and seeds and seeds by 9.3%.
Exports saw a slight decrease in December, dropping a mere 2.7% to record about $4.18 billion, compared to $4.29 billion in the final month of 2021.
This was attributed to a decline in the value of exports of some commodities, including ready-made garments by 4.8%, petroleum products by 41.2%, crude oil by 45.1%, and plastics in their primary forms by 31.4%.
CAPMAS also noted that the value of certain commodities increased during that month, including natural and liquefied gas by 47.3%, fresh fruits by 25.7%, fertilizers by 83.3%, in addition to pasta and various food preparations by 22.9%.
