Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s balance of payment (BoP) deficit narrowed by 28.7% to $3.49 billion in September, compared to $4.90 billion in the same month a year earlier, according to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Sunday.
Exports
The Arab world's most populous country's exports fell by 2.7% year-on-year to $2.37 billion in the ninth month of 2019 from $2.43 billion.
The drop in exports was mainly driven by the decrease in the value of exports of fertilizers, fresh fruits, rags and carpets, and other textiles by 32.5%, 7.9%, 8.5%, and 7.1%, respectively.
On the other hand, exports of crude oil, petroleum products, ready-made garments, and plastics increased by 1.2%, 5.2%, 11.7%, and 7.6%, respectively.
Imports
Meanwhile, the value of the North African nation’s imports declined to $5.86 billion in September from $7.33 billion a year earlier, as imports of petroleum products, iron ore and steel, plastics, organic and inorganic chemicals went down by 37%, 12.6%, 15.9%, and 1.2%, respectively.
However, some imports increased during the month, including wheat, medicines and pharmaceuticals, meat, and maize which grew by 12.8%, 8.6%, 12.4%, and 26.6%, respectively.
