Egypt’s trade deficit widened by 17.5% year-on-year in November 2025, reaching $4.7 billion, compared with $4 billion in the same month of 2024, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The increase was driven by a 12.9% rise in imports, which climbed to $8.7 billion in November 2025, up from $7.7 billion a year earlier.
Imports of several commodities recorded notable growth, led by natural gas, which surged by 76.6% year-on-year. Wheat imports rose by 16.5%, corn by 50.7%, and non-monetary gold in crude forms by 294.6%.
In contrast, imports of some items declined, including petroleum products, which edged down by 0.1% year-on-year. Imports of iron or steel raw materials fell by 5%, plastics in primary forms by 1%, and passenger cars by 10.6%.
Exports also increased during November, rising by 8.9% year-on-year to $4 billion, compared with $3.7 billion in November 2024.
The growth was supported by higher exports of ready-made garments, which rose by around 17%, food preparations by 22.5%, and fresh fruit by 5.2%, while exports of natural and liquefied gas surged by 956.4%.
Meanwhile, exports of petroleum products fell by 3.8%, fertilizers by 20.7%, plastics in primary forms by 2.0%, and crude oil by 29.4%.