Japanese investment in Egypt rises even as trade shrinks: CAPMAS

Sunday 30 Apr 2023

Japanese investments in Egypt surged in FY2021/2022, even as trade between the two countries declined by 26.3 percent to $1.1 billion from $1.6 billion in FY2020/2021, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Sunday.

Egyptian and Japanese flags. (Courtesy of Egyptian Cabinet).

According to CAPMAS, Egyptian exports to Japan dropped 53 percent to $260.8 million in FY2021/2022, compared to $554.4 million in FY2020/2021.

Meanwhile, Egypt's imports from Japan decreased by 11.6 percent to $888.5 million.

Top Egyptian exports to Japan during this time included fuel, mineral oils and distilled products, while its top imports were boilers, machines and apparatuses.

However, Japanese investments in Egypt surged by 98.7 percent to $73.7 million in FY2021/2022 from $37.1 million in FY2020/2021.

The CAPMAS announcement came as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida started a three-day visit to Egypt on Saturday as a part of a trip to Africa.

During the visit, Egyptian and Japanese leaders will discuss ways to promote relations between the two countries, in addition to international and regional peace and security, Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Ahmed Fahmy revealed.

Egypt's trade balance deficit reached $2.48 billion in January 2023, a 47 percent drop from the $4.68 billion figure recorded in the same month in 2022. The drop was mainly driven by the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, which led to fewer imports.

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