The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) released its annual report on Tuesday, revealing the trade exchange between Egypt and 11 countries in East and South Asia during 2022. The report covers China, Malaysia, India, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, and Bangladesh. According to CAPMAS, the total value of trade between Egypt and these countries was $34.5bn in 2022, with a 15.9% increase in Egyptian exports and a 3.9% increase in imports compared to 2021. Egyptian exports to East Asia amounted to $7.7bn, while imports from East Asia reached $26.8bn. The report highlighted that South Korea was the top destination for Egyptian exports, with a value of $2bn in 2022, up from $0.6bn in 2021. This was mainly due to the export of liquefied natural gas to South Korea. India came second, with a value of $1.9bn in 2022, down from $2bn in 2021. Crude oil was the main item exported to India. On the other hand, China was the main source of imports for Egypt, with a value of $14.42bn in 2022, slightly lower than $14.40bn in 2021. Electrical machinery and its parts were the most important items imported from China. India ranked second, with a value of $4.1bn in 2022, up from $3.2bn in 2021. The main items imported from India were meat and edible offal, iron and its products, and organic and inorganic chemicals. The report also showed that fuel and petroleum products and products of the extraction industries group accounted for the largest share of Egyptian exports to Southeast Asian countries, with a value of $5.5bn in 2022, up from $4.5bn in 2021. The group of machinery, mechanical appliances, electrical equipment, transport equipment, and their parts accounted for the largest share of imports, with a value of $8.6bn in 2022, down from $10.0bn in 2021.
