File Photo: General view of Port Said port. Al-Ahram
The trade deficit reached $33.16 billion in FY2022/23, down from $43.39 billion in FY2021/22.
During the fiscal year that ended on 30 June 2023, Egyptian imports plunged 18.92 percent on a yearly basis to $70.78 billion.
The CBE ascribed the overall drop in imports primarily to declining imports of passenger vehicles, spare parts and accessories for cars and tractors, propylene polymers, and mobile phones.
The decline in imports of car accessories and spare parts led to a 65.5 percent drop in car sales in Egypt during the first eight months of 2023.
According to CAPMAS, imports of passenger cars declined to $1.91 billion in 2022 from $3.66 billion a year before.
Exports edge lower
The falling trade deficit happened despite a 9.7 percent drop in total exports to $39.62 billion in FY2022/2023 from $43.9 billion in FY2021/2022, driven by a drop in petroleum exports.
Petroleum exports, including natural gas, oil, and derivatives, plummeted by 23.14 percent to $13.81 billion in FY2022/23, down from $17.98 billion in FY2021/2022.
Production in Egypt’s largest gas field, Zohr, declined by 11 percent in FY2022/2023, according to figures by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
The decrease in total exports was also attributed to the decline in exports of organic and inorganic compounds, household electrical appliances, animal and vegetable fats, greases and oils, and ready-made clothes.
In 2022, Egypt announced an ambitious goal to increase annual exports gradually to $100 billion in five years.
Increasing exports will aid the Egyptian government’s plans to bring in $191 billion in annual revenues by 2026, up from the current figure of $70 billion.
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