Egypt Daily News – Egypt’s trade deficit rose by 11.9% in December, reaching approximately $4.151 billion, compared to $3.709 billion in November, according to data from the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, based on calculations by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The increase was driven by an 11.1% rise in total exports, which amounted to approximately $3.956 billion in December, up from $3.560 billion in November. Meanwhile, total imports grew by 11.5% to $8.107 billion, compared to $7.269 billion.
In November 2024, the trade deficit had already increased by 0.5% to reach $3.71 billion, compared to $3.69 billion in November 2023, as per CAPMAS’ monthly foreign trade bulletin.
The bulletin indicated that exports in November 2024 rose by 6.3% to $3.56 billion, up from $3.35 billion in the same month of the previous year. This growth was attributed to higher exports of petroleum products (85.5%), ready-made garments (8.7%), various food preparations (22.9%), and fresh fruits (22.9%).
Imports in November also increased by 3.3% to $7.27 billion, compared to $7.04 billion in November 2023. The rise was driven by higher imports of natural gas (177.6%), passenger cars (11%), copper and its products (183.3%), and crude oil (271.9%).
On a year-on-year basis, Egypt’s trade deficit surged by 36.9% in December 2024, reaching $4.15 billion, compared to $3.03 billion in December 2023. This was due to a 13.7% increase in exports, which reached $3.956 billion, up from $3.48 billion in December 2023, and a 24.57% rise in imports, which amounted to $8.107 billion, compared to $6.51 billion in the same period of the previous year.
