The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced that the trade balance deficit value decreased to US$3.15 billion during January 2021, compared to $3.85 billion last January – a decrease of 17.9 percent.
The agency noted a decrease in the value of exports by 8.4 percent, having reached $2.50 billion during January 2021 compared to $2.72 billion last year.
This is due to the decrease in the value of exports of certain commodities, the most major being petroleum products by 2.5 percent, crude oil by 11.9 percent, ready-made garments by 8.0 percent, and pasta and various food preparations by 2.3 percent.
And the value of certain commodities increased during January 2021 compared to the same month of last year, the most important of which are fertilizers by 19.3 percent, fresh fruits by 17.9 percent, plastics in their primary forms by 11.5 percent, and carpets and kilims by 7.1 percent.
The value of imports decreased by 13.9 percent, reaching $5.65 billion during January 2021, compared to 6.57 billion for the same month of the last year.
This is due to the decrease in the value of imports of some commodities, the most important of which is petroleum products by 9.5 percent, passenger cars by 14.1 percent, raw materials of iron or steel by 3.7 percent, and crude oil by 53.7 percent.
And the value of imports for some commodities increased during January 2021 compared to last year, the most important of which are: soybeans by 162.4 percent, corn by 43.9 percent, plastics in their primary forms by 18.9 percent, medicines and pharmaceuticals by 12.0 percent.
