In a statement issued on Monday, CAPMAS said Egyptian exports fell by 20.3% to $3.6 billion in January 2026, compared with $4.5 billion in the same month a year earlier.
Egypt’s trade deficit widened to $4.8 billion in January 2026, up from $4.2 billion in January 2025, marking a 15% increase, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
In a statement issued on Monday, CAPMAS said Egyptian exports fell by 20.3% to $3.6 billion in January 2026, compared with $4.5 billion in the same month a year earlier.
The decline was mainly driven by lower exports of several key goods, including pasta and miscellaneous food preparations, down 0.4%; fertilizers, down 47.1%; primary-form plastics, down 21.3%; and dry legumes, down 47.8%.
At the same time, exports of some products posted gains, most notably fresh fruits, which rose 35.1%; petroleum products, up 17.5%; ready-made garments, up 7.3%; and bars, rods, angles, and wires of iron, up 5.6%.
Meanwhile, CAPMAS reported that imports declined by 3.2% to $8.4 billion in January 2026, compared with $8.7 billion in January 2025. This was mainly due to lower imports of petroleum products, down 26.5%; raw materials of iron or steel, down 10.2%; wheat, down 11%; and primary-form plastics, down 16.4%.
However, imports of some commodities increased, led by natural gas, up 3.6%; corn, up 39.4%; passenger cars, up 40.9%; and soybeans, up 6.1%.
