Egypt's trade balance deficit shrank to EGP14.18 billion ($2.03 billion) in April 2013, a 31.5 percent decrease from the EGP 20.71 billion ($2.96 billion) it had recorded in April 2012, according to a recent report by Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The April 2013 figure nonetheless represents a 41 percent increase compared to the trade balance deficit in April 2010, before the country's January 2011 revolution, which totaled EGP 10.05 billion ($1.44 billion), reports CAPMAS. In June, the Central Bank of Egypt announced that the period from July 2012 to March 2013 witnessed a 2.7-percent drop in the national trade deficit, which narrowed to EGP 166.3 billion ($23.8 billion) from a previous EGP 171.2 billion ($24.5 billion) as the value of exports increased from EGP 133.4 billion ($19.1 billion) to EGP 138.4 billion ($19.8 billion). According to CAPMAS, total exports in April reached EGP 18.45 billion ($2.64 billion) in April 2013, up 17.1 percent from the EGP 15.75 billion ($2.25 billion) recorded in April 2012, on the back of higher prices for exported commodities like crude oil, fertilizers, garments, oranges, and foodstuffs. Egypt's total exports hit EGP 79.3 billion (roughly $11.3 billion) in the first six months of 2013 - a 17 percent rise compared to the same period last year, according to the latest report issued by the Egyptian Organization for Exports and Imports Control. Meanwhile, imports declined by 10.5 percent in April to EGP 32.63 billion ($4.67 billion) compared to the EGP 36.46 billion ($5.22 billion) recorded the previous year, due to the devaluation of certain goods such as raw iron and steel, plastics, chemicals, and wood.
