The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics released its September 2023 “Foreign Trade Data” bulletin, revealing a 10.3% increase in the trade deficit, reaching $3.14bn compared to $2.84bn in the same month last year. Export values saw a 33.7% decline, amounting to $2.94bn in September 2023, down from $4.44bn the previous year. This drop is attributed to reduced exports of key commodities, including: ready-made clothes down by 11.1%, petroleum products down by 68.2%, fertilizers down by 65.9%, and plastics in primary forms down by 36.5%. Import values decreased by 16.5%, totaling $6.08bn in September 2023, a drop from $7.28bn in the same period last year. However, imports for certain commodities experienced an increase, such as: petroleum products up by 14.9%, primary forms of iron or steel up by 27.0%, liquefied natural gas up by 27.2%, and motor vehicles up by 156.6%.

Source: Daily News Egypt December 07, 2023 15:14 UTC