Egypt’s trade balance deficit hits $3.03B in December 2023: CAPMAS

Egypt experienced a 17.8 percent increase in its trade balance deficit in December 2023, reaching $3.03 billion compared to $2.57 billion in December 2022, according to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

 

During December 2023, the value of Egypt's exports declined by 23.0 percent, to record $3.48 billion, in contrast to $4.52 billion in the same month of 2022. 

 

This decrease in exports was primarily due to a drop in the value of commodities such as petroleum products by 46 percent, natural gas and liquefied gas by 88.1 percent, and plastics by 35.5 percent.

 

However, there were certain goods whose export value increased in December 2023. Ready-made clothes witnessed a growth of 24.9 percent, fresh fruits saw a rise of 3.6 percent, and raw petroleum experienced a surge of 60.2 percent.

 

In terms of imports, the volume declined by 8.2 percent in December 2023, amounting to $6.5 billion compared to $7.09 billion in the same month of the previous year.