Egyptian exports to the US fell by 37.6% in 2013 while imports rose by 7.6% Central Agency for Public Mobilization & Statistics (CAPMAS) reported Tuesday. Exports to the USA recorded EGP 8.1bn, compared to EGP 13bn the year before and the imports reached EGP35.8bn, compared to EGP 33.2bn in 2012. CAPMAS reported that exports to the US were dominated by ready-made clothes and furnishing products, with both representing 61.6% of the total exports, compared to 38% in 2012. "Imports of machinery, electric equipments and their spare-parts ranked the first as they represented 17.3% during 2013 and 18.3% of Egypt's total imports from the USA and during 2012," CAPMAS added. Over the past four years, furniture exports have witnessed a steady climb. In 2013, exports registered EGP 2.4bn while in 2012 exports recorded EGP 1.99bn. In 2010 and 2011, Egypt's exports of furniture amounted to EGP 1.44bn and EGP 1.789bn respectively. The Egyptian Furniture Export Council forecasts Egypt's furniture exports to reach EGP 2.8bn. Between January and May 2014, the value of Egyptian furniture exports reached EGP 1.1bn. The agency noted that the investment flow between Egypt and the USA deteriorated during 2013, decreasing by 61.7% to EGP 82.67mn in 2013, compared to EGP 216.2mn in 2012. During 2013, Egyptian exports increased by 5.9%, climbing to EGP 197.7bn compared to EGP 186.7bn in 2012. Imports also inched up by 3.6% and reached EGP 457.8bn, as opposed to EGP 441.9bn in 2013. The Ministry of Planning expects products and service imports to grow by 6.4% to reach EGP 387.3bn in real prices during the fiscal year (FY) 2014/2015. Exports are also expected to rise by 3.8% to EGP 251.4bn during the same fiscal year. The gap between imports and exports is estimated at EGP 135.9bn, the Planning Ministry previously stated.
