Egyptian non-petroleum exports declined by 19% from the beginning of the year to the end of September, a Tuesday statement from the Ministry of Industry & Foreign Trade indicated.

Exports stood at approximately $13.9bn, down from the $17.2bn that was registered in the same period the preceding year.

Meanwhile, for the month of September, exports have decreased by 28.7%, to record $1.2bn, compared to the $1.7bn that was recorded in the same month in 2014.

The  significant decline was partly attributed to the inability to provide the needed amounts of gas for factories to run at their full capacity. Another reason was the instability being witnessed in a number of Arab markets, the statement highlighted.

Products that witnessed a decline in exports include furniture, building materials, food products, agricultural products, engineering and electronic products, amongst others.

Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Qabil indicated however that he is currently coordinating with concerned parties in the country to take actions to resolve the problems that led to the decline in exports.

Concerning food industry exports, Chairman of Agro Egypt for Agricultural Products Mohamed Roshdy said earlier that one of the most prominent obstacles facing the industry when it comes to exportation is the difficulty of transferring products to export markets in an appropriate period.

He added that the size of losses of agricultural products reached 30% in some products and more than 50% in other products, because of poor transportation and storage operations.

As the biggest importer of wheat in the world, Egypt’s exports haven’t only declined, but the country continues to suffer from a trade balance deficit due to the country’s imports exceeding exports in general.