Egypt's trade deficit reached EGP 21.2 billion in July of this year, a 6.3 percent increase compared to the same month in 2012, when it stood at EGP 19.9 billion, the state statistics agency – the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported on Monday. The value of exports, including crude oil, fertilisers, foodstuffs and plastics, increased by 2.4 percent, reaching EGP 14.6 billion in July 2013, as opposed to EGP 14.2 billion for the same month the previous year. According to the latest report of the state's General Organisation for Export & Import Control, the government's target is EGP 145 billion ($21 billion) net worth of total exports for 2013, 77 percent of which has already been achieved in the three quarters ending in September. Total exports in 2012 stood at EGP 132.7 billion ($19.2 billion). Meanwhile, the value of imports, including petroleum products, gold ore, iron and steel, plastics and corn, increased by 4.7 percent to reach EGP 35.8 billion, compared to EGP 34.2 billion in July 2012. Source: Ahram Online
