Cairo – Mubasher: A recent report by the Export Council for Building Materials, Refractories, and Metallurgy Industries showed a 34% annual drop in Egypt’s iron exports in 2019 as well as a 6% annual increase in cement exports, Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Monday.
Total exports of cement and cast iron totalled $843 million in 2019 when compared to $1.192 billion in 2018, down by 41.3%.
The decline was dragged by lower iron exports at $690 million last year from $1.048 billion, the report revealed.
Saudi Arabia was the top iron and cast iron importer from Egypt with $203 million, followed by Spain and Sudan with $51 million and $50 million, respectively.
On the contrary, Egypt’s cement exports rose by 6% on an annual basis last year to stand at $153 million from $144 million in 2018.
Libya came in the first place among the top cement importers with $73.45 million, followed by the US with $12.52 million and Saudi Arabia with $11.55 million.
It is worth pointing out that 14 countries out of a total of 67 imported Egyptian cement for the first time in 2019. The new countries include Italy, Panama, Slovenia, France, and Japan among others.
