Egypt’s imports of non-durable consumer goods declined by 19.7 per cent during the first five months of 2020, to record $5.056 billion compare to the $6.299 billion in the same period of 2019, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
CAPMAS added that in May 2020, imports of non-durable goods in Egypt decreased by 26 per cent to $820.574 million down from $1.514 billion in May last year.
CAPMAS also said that medicines and pharmaceuticals imports decreased by 12.7 per cent during the same period, recording a total of $924.965 million compared to $1.059 billion during the same period in 2019.
Sugar imports declined by 76.6 per cent to $15.489 million during the first five months of 2020, compared to $66.161 million during the same period last year.
Soap and cleaning products dropped by 31.2 per cent, registering $64 million in the first five months of 2020, down from $93 million last year.
Meanwhile, during the first five months of 2020, wheat flour imports increased by 151 per cent to $2.845 million, compared to the $1.131 million recorded in the same period a year ago.
Also Read: Egypt increases export to world trade organisations in 2019
During the period from January to May refined oils imports also increased, recording a rise of 14.6 per cent to $347.966 million, compared to the $303.546million last year. Egypt’s lentil imports bill increased by 57.2 per cent to $35.339 million against the $22.474 million last year.
Live cattle import bill fell by 33 per cent to $39.313 million compared to $58.645 million in the same period last year. Meat import bill also fell by 19.9 per cent to $637.164 million, compared to $795.447 million in the same period last year.
Also, Egyptian exports of glass declined in the first six months of 2020 by 22 per cent registering $154 million against $199 million in the corresponding period of 2019 according to the Export Council for Building Materials, Refractory & Metallurgy Industries (ECBM) report.
According to the report, the US topped the list of importers of Egyptian glass with its imports standing at $25 million in six months while Turkey came in the second position with its imports put at $21.527 million. Morocco was third on the list with imports worth $6.157 million whereas the Netherlands came fourth with $12.067 million.
Also Read: Egypt’s unemployment up to 9.6% in 2020: CAPMAS
