Egypt's non-oil trade deficit falls 16% in H1

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Egypt's non-oil trade deficit plunged by approximately 16% to $15.9 billion in the first half (H1) of 2024, according to a government document reviewed by Asharq Business.

This decline was driven by an increase in exports and a decrease in imports as compared to the same period last year, when the deficit was at $18.917 billion

The document revealed that merchandize exports rose by 9.8% to $19.641 billion from January to June, while imports dropped by about 3.3% to $35.565 billion.

This rise in exports comes as the Egyptian government aims to reach an annual export target of $100 billion.

The building materials sector made up 24% of the country’s total exports, with $4.7 billion worth of exports, followed by the chemical products and fertilizers sector with a 19% share or $3.8 billion.

Meanwhile, the food industries accounted for 15% or $3.1 billion of total exports, followed by agricultural products with a share of 14% or $2.7 billion and the engineering and electronic goods sector with a 13% share worth $2.6 billion.

On the import side, engineering and electronic goods made up the largest share of total imports at 30% worth $10.8 billion, followed by building materials with a 18% share worth $6.8 billion.

This was followed by agricultural products with a 14% for $4.9 billion share of total imports, chemical products and fertilizers with a 14% share at a value of $5.1 billion, and food industries with a 11% share worth $3.9 billion of imports.