Egypt's exports to Turkey increased 38.5 percent in 2017, recording $1.998 billion, compared to $1.443 billion in 2016, Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Kabil said on Sunday. on the other hand, Kabil added that the imports decreased 13.7 percent, to $2.36 billion, compared to $2.733 billion in 2016. This came with a recent report from the Egyptian Commercial Office in Istanbul on the movement of trade exchange between Egypt and Turkey during 2017. The minister added that the trade deficit between the two countries declined to $360 million with a 72 percent decrease, compared to 2016. Moreover, He noted that the coverage rate of the Egyptian exports to imports rose from 53 percent in 2016 to 85 percent in 2017, referring that Turkey is the second largest importer from Egypt after the United Arab Emirates. First Deputy Minister of Trade Ahmed Antar attributed the increase of Egyptian exports to the Turkish market to the rise of exports in three industrial sectors that represent 80 percent of Egypt's total exports, which are chemicals at 89 percent, clothing and textiles at 23 percent and plastics at 31 percent.
