Egypt’s Investment Ministry finalized the country’s new trade policy document — seen by EnterpriseAM — aimed at crafting policies that deepen local manufacturing and reducing imports of intermediate and capital goods, while expanding exports of goods with comparative advantages — in line with the government’s plan to double exports.

Breaking down Egypt’s imports: Egypt’s imports are dominated by engineering and electronic goods, which reached USD 24 bn in 2024. They were followed by chemical products, fertilizers, and building materials. Agricultural imports also held a significant share of our imports for the year — between USD 9–12 bn — driven by higher imports of grains and other food commodities. Our imports come in from the UE, China, Arab countries, and the US, while trade with Africa remains limited, highlighting untapped markets, a concentration of trade partners, and dependence on a narrow supplier base.

The document calls for coordination among various policies — including trade, industrial, fiscal, and monetary policies — under a comprehensive national program to support Egyptian exports. This includes strengthening the production base, expanding export capacity, and increasing the added value of Egyptian products— all to balance trade and sustainably reduce the trade deficit.

The policy focuses on securing supply chains through offering preferential prices and terms, by maximizing the benefits of all trade agreements and engaging in dialogue with international patterns, the document highlights.

The new framework seeks to replace trade restrictions with structural reforms, in a bid to improve the efficiency of supply chains and trade-related logistics, as well as reducing customs clearance times.

ICYMI- The Finance Ministry recently finalized a package of custom facilities, that includes launching a new pricing platform for frequently imported goods, enabling six-month installment payments for customs duties, and postponing customs duty collection via the Nafeza system until goods arrive.

IN OTHER TRADE NEWS FROM EGYPT-

Non-oil trade deficit down in 9M 2025: Egypt’s trade deficit dropped by some 18% y-o-y to USD 22.8 bn in 9M 2025, down from USD 27.9 bn in the corresponding period last year, according to a cabinet statement citing Capmas data. The drop came on the back of a surge in non-oil exports — which shot up 21% y-o-y to USD 36.6 bn between January and September.

Exports to Egypt’s top five destination countries grew 42% y-o-y to hit USD 14.8 bn. These were identified as the UAE, Turkey, KSA, Italy, and the US. The UAE stood out as the largest importer of goods, with non-petroleum exports to the Kingdom rising by 169% y-o-y to USD 5.9 bn. This was followed by Turkey at USD 2.4 bn, Saudi Arabia at USD 2.3 bn, and Italy at USD 2.1 bn.

The breakdown: Building materials accounted for the largest value of exports at USD 11.7 bn, climbing up some 51% y-o-y last year. This was followed by the chemical and fertilizer sector, which inched up 10% y-o-y to USD 6.8 bn; the food industries sector increased 9% to USD 5.1 bn; and the engineering and electronic goods sector gained 11% to USD 4.7 bn.

REMEMBER- Egypt’s trade deficit rose 20.2% y-o-y in 2024 to record USD 50 bn. Exports rose 6.5% y-o-y to USD 45.3 bn, while imports climbed up 13.2% y-o-y to USD 95.3 bn.

ALSO- The Egyptian government is looking to raise its share of EU-bound exports by 12% to EUR 14 bn in 2025, Asharq Business reports , citing an unnamed government source. In the first eight months of 2025, Egypt’s exports to the EU increased by USD 7.57 bn — an 11.5% rise — the outlet reported, citing data from the Export and Import Control Authority.

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