Egypt’s trade deficit declined by about 22% in February 2016 compared to February 2015, according to a report issued on Thursday by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The balance of trade is an economic measure of the difference in value between a country’s imports and exports during a given period.
According to CAPMAS, the trade deficit was EGP 22.4bn in February 2016 compared to EGP 30bn in February 2015.
Egypt’s imports fell by 15.3% in February 2016 to record EGP 36.1bn, compared to the same period in 2015. This decline followed a drop in the value of some imports: petroleum products by 12%, iron and steel by 20.7%, and passenger vehicles by 19%.
The value of some imports increased in February 2016, such as fresh apples by 11.3% and copper products by 18.2%.
According to the monthly CAPMAS report, the value of Egyptian exports increased by 6% in February 2016 to reach EGP 12.8bn.
The value of fresh orange exports increased by 21.6%, petroleum products by 10.4% and fertilisers by 5.9%
