Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt's merchandise exports rose by 5.3% year-on-year (YoY) to $9.61 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 from $9.12 billion in the same quarter of 2023.

Leading destinations for Egyptian exports included Turkey ($874 million), Saudi Arabia ($792 million), the UAE ($586 million), Italy ($544 million), and the US ($471 million), according to a report by the General Organization for Export & Import Control.

The report highlighted building materials ($1.95 billion), food products ($1.54 billion), chemicals ($1.44 billion), and crops ($1.44 billion) as the main exports from Egypt during the first three months of the year.

Data from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed that the country's trade deficit widened to $18.65 billion in the first half (H1) of fiscal year (FY) 2023/2024 from $15.54 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Exports decreased to $16.44 billion in H1-23/24 from $21.50 billion in the previous year, while imports dropped to $35.10 billion in the six months ending on December 31, 2023, from $37.05 billion in the corresponding period the previous year.