A recently-released report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) noted that Egyptian fertilizer and furniture exports had declined, while imports of crude oil, petrochemicals and automobiles had increased. Fertilizer exports fell from LE959.3 million in 2008 to 412.9 million in 2009, a drop of 57 percent, while furniture exports fell from LE186.4 million to LE114 during the same period. In contrast, oil imports reached LE2.2 billion in 2009, an increase of 140 percent on the previous year, followed by a similar increase in petrochemical imports. In the same period, medicine imports rose 32.4 percent, from LE381 million to LE504.7 million; automobile imports rose 93.6 percent, from LE207.6 million to LE420 million; and the import of heavy trucks rose 31.4 percent, from LE205.1 million to LE269.4. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
