The value of trade exchange between Egypt and the world increased by 13.7% in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year (FY) 2018/19, reaching $23.4bn up from $20.58bn in the same period of FY 2017/18, according to the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) latest report. Egypt's imports reached $16.6bn in Q1 of FY 2018/19 up from $14.74bn in Q1 of FY 2017/18, an increase of 12.6%, while the Egyptian exports hiked to $6.78bn in Q1 of the current FY, compared to $5.83bn in the same period of last FY, an increase of 16.2%, the report added. The CBE elaborated that China was Egypt's most important trade partner, with an exchange trade value of about $1.6bn, including $1.5bn of imports and $71.9m of exports. The United States ranked second with an exchange trade value of $1.5bn, including $867.5m of imports and $652.3m of exports. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia ranked third with an exchange trade of $1.48bn, followed by the UAE with exchange trade of $1.4bn, and Italy with an exchange trade of $1.3bn. The next five rankings included Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, India, and Russia with exchange trade values of $1.03bn, $985.9m, $845.4m, $779.5m, and $697.8m respectively. Turkey came in the eleventh rank with a trade exchange value of $693.7m, followed by France with $662.7m of trade exchange, Kuwait with $503.8m, and Spain with $476.6m of trade exchange with Egypt. The report stated that the trade exchange between Egypt and the aforementioned 14 countries accounted for 60% of Egypt's total trade value which amounted to $14.1bn in Q1 of FY 2018/19, compared to $11.9bn during the same period of last FY.
