Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s trade balance deficit fell by 2.7% year-on-year in February to $3.63 billion from $3.72 billion, data issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) showed on Monday.

Exports

The value of the North African nation’s exports grew by 2.2% last February to $2.48 billion, compared to $2.43 billion in the same month of 2018.

The growth in exports was attributed to the 13.0% rise in the value of crude oil exports, the 29.6% hike in plastic exports, the 27.9% increase in exported potatoes, and the 94.2% surge in exports of fresh fruits, CAPMAS noted.

However, ready-made clothing exports declined by 4.1%, while exports of fertilisers, fresh oranges, and carpets dropped by 5.5%, 67.8%, and 9.5%, respectively.

Imports

On the other hand, Egyptian imports retreated 0.7% year-on-year to $6.11 billion, compared to $6.15 billion in February 2018, the state-run statistics agency said.

The country’s petroleum imports plunged by 25.5%, while imports of iron and steel dipped 26.5%, imported passenger cars fell by 2.0%, and soybean imports declined by 0.9%.

Meanwhile, imports of plastics, pharmaceuticals, wheat, and organic and non-organic chemical materials increased by 15.1%, 48.4%, 37.7%, and 4.9%, respectively.