Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s trade deficit rose by 13.8% year-on-year to $3.3 billion in December 2017 from $2.9 billion, according to a statement by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Sunday.
Egyptian exports surged to $2.47 billion last December, compared to exports worth $2.01 billion in the same month a year earlier, the statement added.
Total exports grew as exports of crude oil, fertilisers, and ready-made clothes climbed by 92.3%, 68.1%, and 14.2%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Egyptian imports increased by 17.6% year-on-year to $5.77 billion, versus $4.91 billion in December 2016.
Imports of iron and steel raw materials grew by 48.2% last December, while Egypt’s imports of plastic went up by 39.3%.
