Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s trade balance deficit shrank by 10.8% year-on-year to $3.45 billion in December 2019, compared to $3.87 billion, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in a statement on Tuesday.

Exports

The North African nation’s exports grew by 0.5% to $2.59 billion in the last month of 2019 from $2.57 billion in the same month a year earlier, data showed.

Exports of petroleum products surged by 25.3% in December, whereas exports of various food products and pharmaceuticals and medicines rose by 24.7% and 5.7%, respectively.

On the other hand, crude petroleum exports fell by 10.9% year-on-year last December, while exports of ready-made garments, plastics, and fresh fruits declined by 1.9%, 27.6%, and 7.4%, respectively.

Imports

Meanwhile, imports of the most populous Arab nation went down by 6.2% year-on-year to $6.04 billion in December from $6.44 billion, dragged by lower imports of petroleum products, raw iron and steel, wheat, and pharmaceuticals and medicines by 40.6%, 8.4%, 14.4%, and 12.9%, respectively.

However, imports of passenger vehicles, organic and inorganic chemicals, and individual phones increased by 6.2%, 6.9%, and 26.8%, respectively.