Egypt's trade deficit declined 22 percent in February compared to the same month a year earlier due to the fall in imports of steel raw materials, cars and oil products, said official statistics agency CAPMAS in an e-mailed statement Thursday.

The deficit amounted to EGP 23.4 billion in February down from EGP 30 billion in the same month of 2015.

During this period, imports fell 15.3 percent to EGP 36.1 billion, despite the increase in copper products and fresh apple imports.

However, the rise in some exports such as fresh orange and fertilisers pushed up total exports by around 0.8 percent year-on-year in February 2016 to register EGP 12.8 billion.

Central Bank of Egypt governor Tarek Amer said in January that the government aims to reduce imports by $20 billion in 2016, down from $80 billion in 2015.

On monthly basis, the trade deficit rose by five percent from January 2016.

*The official exchange rate for $1 = EGP 8.78