The deficit in Egypt's trade balance reached $3.28bn in February 2018 compared to $3.32bn in the same month of the previous year, a decrease of 1.2%, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS)'s monthly bulletin of foreign trade data for February 2018, issued on Tuesday. The value of exports increased by 14.0% to reach $2.31bn during February 2018 compared to $2.02bn in the same month of 2017. This is due to the increase in the value of exports of some commodities, the most important of which were crude oil increasing by 8.7%, clothes by 17.7%, oranges by 16.6%, and primary forms of plastic by 16%. The value of exports of some commodities decreased during February 2018 compared to February 2017. The most noteworthy items included fertilisers declining by 35.8%, fresh fruits by 22.4%, furniture by 1.8%, and soap and detergents by 34.7%. On the other hand, the value of imports increased by 4.6% to reach $5.59bn during February 2018 compared to $5.34bn in the same month last year, due to the increase in the value of imports of some commodities, the most important of which were raw iron or steel by 128.9%, crude oil by 141.3% plastics in primary forms by 1.4%, and motor vehicles by 92.0%. The value of imports of some commodities declined during February 2018 compared to the same month of the previous year, the most important of which were petroleum products by 24.7%, pharmaceuticals by 13.9%, organic and inorganic chemicals by 14.6%, and wheat by 17.4%.
