Egypt's trade deficit saw a significant reduction of 37.2% in January 2024, as reported by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The deficit amounted to $2.08bn, a notable decrease from the $3.32bn recorded in the same month of the previous year. The value of exports experienced a decline of 15.6%, totalling $3.46bn compared to $4.1bn in January of the previous year. This decrease was attributed to lower values in several commodities, including petroleum products (8.1%), fertilizers (47.7%), crude oil (22.1%), and natural and liquefied gas (87.1%). Conversely, the export values of certain commodities rose in January 2024 compared to the same period last year. Fresh fruits increased by 24.9%, ready-made clothes by 35.7%, pastries and various food preparations by 38.6%, and plastics in their primary forms by 12.8%. On the import side, there was a 25.3% reduction in value, which amounted to $5.54bn, down from $7.42bn in January of the previous year. This was due to decreased values in commodities such as wheat (41.8%), plastics in primary forms (43.6%), medicines and pharmaceutical preparations (9.9%), and corn (15.1%). However, the import values of some commodities did see an increase in January 2024 compared to the same month of the previous year. There was a significant rise in petroleum products (60.8%), raw materials of iron or steel (2.7%), natural gas (20.9%), and passenger cars (92.9%).
