Egypt’s trade deficit widened to $4.8bn in January 2026, up from $4.2bn in the same month of 2025, marking a 15% year-on-year increase, according to Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
In a statement issued on Monday, the agency said the rise in the deficit was primarily driven by a sharp decline in exports, which fell by 20.3% to $3.6bn in January 2026, compared with $4.5bn a year earlier. The drop was largely attributed to lower export values across several key commodities, including fertilisers, which plunged by 47.1%, plastics in primary forms, down by 21.3%, dried legumes, down by 47.8%, and food pastes and miscellaneous food preparations, which edged lower by 0.4%.
Despite the overall decline, exports of some goods recorded notable growth. Fresh fruit exports rose by 35.1%, while petroleum products increased by 17.5%. Ready-made garments climbed by 7.3%, and iron products, including bars, rods, angles, and wires, grew by 5.6%.
On the import side, CAPMAS reported a 3.2% year-on-year decline, with total imports falling to $8.4bn in January 2026 from $8.7bn in January 2025. The decrease was mainly driven by reduced imports of petroleum products, down by 26.5%, raw materials of iron and steel, down by 10.2%, wheat, down by 11%, and plastics in primary forms, which declined by 16.4%.
However, imports of several other commodities increased, partially offsetting the overall decline. Natural gas imports rose by 3.6%, maize surged by 39.4%, passenger cars increased by 40.9%, and soybeans were up by 6.1%.
