Egypt's Trade Deficit Narrows by 10.3% Year-on-Year in May 2024

Egypt's trade deficit narrowed by 10.3% year-on-year (YoY) in May 2024, decreasing to USD 3.5 billion from USD 3.9 billion a year earlier, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Exports saw a modest increase of 0.4%, reaching USD 3.8 billion in May. This rise was driven by higher sales of fresh fruit, clothing, pasta, and carpets. However, exports of certain goods declined, including crude oil shipments, which fell by 4.3%, petroleum products, which dropped by 17.4%, and fertilizers, which declined by 5.2%.

Imports experienced a 5.1% decrease, falling to USD 7.3 billion in May from USD 7.7 billion a year earlier. The reduction in imports was partly due to lower purchases of specific goods such as iron or steel raw materials, which declined by 0.3%, medicines and pharmaceutical preparations, which fell by 24.7%, and organic and inorganic chemicals, which dropped by 23.3%.

Conversely, imports of certain goods surged significantly. Petroleum products increased by 86.1%, wheat rose by 153.6%, natural gas grew by 39.2%, and passenger cars increased by 15.2%.

Despite the narrowing trade deficit in May, Egypt's current account deficit widened in the first nine months of fiscal year FY 2023/2024 to USD 17.1 billion, up from USD 5.3 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Additionally, the oil-trade balance shifted to a deficit of USD 5.1 billion from a surplus of USD 1.7 billion, as the decline in oil exports outpaced that of oil imports, according to the Central Bank of Egypt.