Egypt’s trade deficit widened by 20.2% year-on-year in 2024, reaching $50 billion, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The increase was driven by a simultaneous rise in both exports and imports.

Exports grew by 6.5% to $45.3 billion, while imports saw a steeper rise of 13.2%, totaling $95.3 billion.

Non-oil exports recorded a strong 14.4% increase, reaching $39.3 billion, making them the largest component of the country’s total exports. Meanwhile, petroleum and gas exports slumped by nearly 29% to $5.5 billion.

On the import side, non-oil imports rose 9.2% to $79.2 billion, while petroleum and gas imports surged by 38.3% to $16.1 billion.

Manufactured goods emerged as the largest contributor to non-oil exports, with finished products accounting for 54.1% of the total.

Gold and gold-plated platinum led the category with $3.2 billion, followed by ready-made garments and accessories at $2.8 billion, and plastics and iron products at $2.3 billion each.

As for imports, several key commodities declined in value. Corn imports dropped 8.5% to $2.3 billion, wood and wood products fell 2.4% to $1.2 billion, and crude oil imports plunged by nearly half to $900 million.

Intermediate goods remained the dominant category in imports, making up 35.8% of the total, followed by fuel imports at 17.3%, and non-durable consumer goods at 16%.