Egypt’s trade deficit increased by 8.8% year-on-year to $3.78 billion in November 2018, versus $3.47 billion, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said on Thursday.
The Arab world's most populous country’s exports went up by 1.9% to $2.33 billion last November, versus $2.29 billion in the same month a year earlier, according to a statement.
The increase in exports was mainly driven by the rise in the value of some exports, including crude oil, ready-made clothing, and fertilizers, which rose by 16.8%, 16.5%, and 19%, respectively.
On the other hand, the value of some exports fell last November, mainly food and pastries, dairy products, fresh fruits, and furniture exports that tumbled by 12.3%, 6.8%, 40.7%, and 22.9%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the value of imports grew by 6.1% to $6.11 billion, versus $5.76 billion in November 2017, the state-run statistics agency noted.
The CAPMAS attributed the rise in imports’ value to higher values of imports such as Iron and steel by 8.2%, in addition to vehicles and wheat imports which jumped by 31.6%and 65.7%, respectively.
Moreover, the value of some imports dropped in November, including wood, corn, petroleum products, and refined oils that fell by 11.3%, 15.8%, 61.2%, and 45.2%, respectively.