File Photo: Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. Al-Ahram
According to its monthly bulletin for foreign trade data for February 2025, CAPMAS noted that the value of exports increased by 24.1 percemt, reaching $4.43 billion in February 2025, compared to $3.57 billion in February 2024.
CAPMAS attributed this increase to higher export values of several key goods, including ready-made garments (+30.6 percent), petroleum products (+12.2 percent), pasta and various food preparations (+9.3 percent), and plastics in primary forms (+3.4 percent).
However, the export value of some goods declined in February 2025 compared to the same month of the previous year, most notably fresh fruits (-9.9 percent), fertilizers (-17.2 percent), potatoes (-5.2 percent), and Iron and steel bars, rods, angles, and wires (-32.3 percent).
Imports decline
The bulletin’s data showed that import value decreased by 1.4 per cent, reaching $6.76 billion in February 2025, compared to $6.85 billion in the same month of the previous year.
This decrease is due to changes in the value of several imported goods, including increases in petroleum products (+12.6 percent), natural gas (+150.6 percent), corn (+40.8 percent), and soybeans (+12.9 percent).
Conversely, according to CAPMAS, the import value of some goods declined in February 2025 compared to February 2024, including wheat (-13.2 percent), raw materials of iron or steel (-33.7 percent), pharmaceuticals and medicinal preparations (-2.9 percent), and plastics in primary forms (-6.8 percent).
Egypt aims to boost its annual exports to $115.8 billion by 2030, signalling a recalibration of national trade ambitions amid ongoing global and regional challenges.
The government has adopted a roadmap for strengthening Egypt’s economic outlook. Committees, covering macroeconomics, export development, digital economy, tourism, entrepreneurship, political affairs, and real estate exports, are expected to guide policy and implementation strategically.
The new export target marks a notable revision from the $145 billion goal announced in early 2024, reflecting a more measured outlook in the wake of recent trade and revenue disruptions.
Egypt also targets $105 billion in annual imports by 2030, with a projected annual growth rate of 5 percent.
One of the key pressures on Egypt’s foreign exchange earnings has been the sharp decline in Suez Canal revenues, which dropped by 61.2 percent in the first quarter of the current FY 2024/2025 to $931.2 million, down from $2.4 billion a year earlier. The drop is primarily attributed to geopolitical disruptions in the Red Sea region.
According to Egyptian cabinet data, Egypt’s trade deficit narrowed from $48 billion in 2015 to $37 billion in 2024, while non-oil exports more than doubled, jumping from $18.6 billion in 2015 to $40.8 billion in 2024, reflecting a 119 percent growth.
Earlier this year, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan ElKhatib confirmed that Egyptian exports reached a record $40 billion in 2024, driven partly by strong engineering and manufacturing performance.
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