Arab Finance: Egypt's trade deficit widened by 29% year on year (YoY) to $6.4 billion in August 2026, compared to $4.9 billion in the same month of 2025, according to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on November 4.

Egypt's imports rose by 21.4% to $11.1 billion in August, up from $9.1 billion a year earlier, driven by higher purchases of several commodities.

Natural gas imports increased by 59.1%, while imports of petroleum products rose by 20.3%. Imports of plastics in primary forms grew by 15.4%, while copper and related products recorded a 96% increase.

In contrast, imports of passenger cars declined by 3.8%, while imports of iron and steel raw materials fell by 36.4%. Wheat imports dropped by 44.9%, and soybean imports decreased by 28%.

On the export side, Egypt recorded a 12.4% annual increase to $4.7 billion in August 2026, compared to $4.2 billion in the corresponding month of 2025.

Eُxport growth was supported by a 75.6% increase in petroleum product exports and a 21.2% rise in ready-made garment exports. Exports of pasta and other food preparations increased by 5%, while fertilizer exports grew by 5.2%.

However, several export categories registered declines during the month. Fresh fruit exports fell by 7.9%, while medicines and pharmaceutical preparations declined by 8%. Exports of dried legumes dropped by 21.9%, and furniture exports decreased by 16.1%.