Egypt has posted a trade deficit of $1.95bn in February, showing 51.4% decrease compared to $4.01bn in the same month last year, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
On Wednesday, statistics for February 2020 reported in the monthly foreign trade data newsletter showed that the value of exports rose by 3.3% to $2.69bn. This compares to $2.61bn in the same month of the previous year.
The increase can be attributed to the high value of exports of some of the most important commodities. These include various food materials increasing by 11.4%, fresh fruits by 65.3%, medicines and pharmaceutical products by 32.4%, and frozen or chilled vegetables by 25.6%.
The value of some commodity exports decreased during February 2020 compared to the same month of the previous year. The most prominent commodities included petroleum products falling by 23.0%, ready-made clothes by 6.6%, fertilisers by 20.0%, and crude oil by 55.1%.
Statistics indicate that the value of imports decreased by 29.9% to $4.64bn during the February, compared to $6.62bn during the comparison period. This is due to the decrease in the value of imports of some commodities, the most important of which are iron or steel at 28.6%, wheat at 25.2%, petroleum products at 68.1%, and plastics in primary forms at 36.2%.
The value of imports of some commodities increased during February 2020 compared to the same month in the previous year, the most important of which are crude oil, by 135.2%, passenger cars, by 23.3%, corn by 10.5%, and refined oils by 38.6%.
