That dollar amount reflects a 63.3% increase since 2018 when Egyptian exports totaled $29.5 billion.
Year over year, the value of Egypt’s overall exports grew by 18.3% from $40.7 billion during 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, Egypt’s legal currency is the Egyptian pound which depreciated by -7.8% against the US dollar since 2018 and diluted by -22.5% from 2021 to 2022. The weaker Egyptian currency in 2022 made Egypt’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers.
Egypt’s Major International Trade Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 57.1% of products exported from Egypt were bought by importers in: Türkiye (7.9% of the Egyptian total), Spain (7.3%), Italy (6.9%), Saudi Arabia (5%), United States of America (4.5%), South Korea (4.1%), United Arab Emirates (3.9%), India (3.7%), mainland China (3.6%), Greece (3.53%), Netherlands (3.47%) and France (3.3%).
From a continental perspective, 40.3% of Egypt’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 39.6% was sold to importers in Europe. Egypt shipped another 11.9% worth of goods to trade partners also in Africa, with 6.6% sent to North America.
Smaller percentages went to Latin America (1.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Egypt’s population of 104.1 million people, its total $48.1 billion in 2022 exports translates to about $460 for every resident in the transcontinental nation. That dollar metric exceeds the average $400 per capita one year earlier in 2021.
Egypt’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Egyptian global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Egypt.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$18 billion (37.3% of total exports)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $2.61 billion (5.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $2.56 billion (5.3%)
- Fertilizers: $2.3 billion (4.9%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.8 billion (3.8%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $1.7 billion (3.4%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.6 billion (3.4%)
- Vegetables: $1.4 billion (3%)
- Iron, steel: $1.3 billion (2.6%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $1.2 billion (2.6%)
Egypt’s top 10 exports generated approaching three-quarters (71.7%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Inorganic chemicals was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 106.4% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was fertilizers via a 59.4% advance.
Egypt’s shipments of gems and precious metals posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 40.1%. That product category was boosted by higher sales of gold on international markets.
The leading decliner among Egypt’s top 10 export categories was iron and steel. That product category dropped by -27.1% year over year.
The above information is presented at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
From the more granular 4-digit HTS code perspective, petroleum gases was the top Egyptian export (21.4% of total exports) during 2022. Close behind in second place were processed petroleum oils (9.4%) trailed by crude oil (6.2%), nitrogenous fertilizers (3.9%), unwrought gold (3.3%), insulated wire or cable (2%), television receivers, monitors and projectors (1.9%), fresh or dried citrus fruit (1.7%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits and trousers (1.4%), then polyacetal, ether and carbonates (1.3%).
Countries Generating Egypt’s Biggest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Egyptian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: $2.9 billion (Up by 5.3% since 2021)
- Fertilizers: $2.1 billion (Up by 60.1%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $1.5 billion (Up by 40.1%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.2 billion (Up by 1720.9%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.2 billion (Up by 15.1%)
- Vegetables: $838.3 million (Up by 44.7%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $677 million (Up by 28.1%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $591 million (Up by 24.4%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $553.3 million (Up by 514.7%)
- Glass: $472.6 million (Up by 7%)
Egypt has highly positive net exports in the international trade of petroleum gases. In turn, these cashflows indicate Egypt’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels-related product category.
Countries Causing Egypt’s Worst Trade Deficits
Egypt incurred an overall -$31.6 billion product trade deficit for 2022, down by -4.6% from the -$33.1 billion in red ink one year earlier for 2021.
Below are exports from Egypt that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Egypt’s goods trail Egyptian importer spending on foreign products.
- Cereals: -US$6.4 billion (Up by 29.7% since 2021)
- Machinery including computers: -$5.5 billion (Down by -4.2%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$3.1 billion (Down by -4.2%)
- Iron, steel: -$3 billion (Up by 68.7%)
- Vehicles: -$2.8 billion (Down by -42.3%)
- Organic chemicals: -$2.1 billion (Up by 30%)
- Oil seeds: -$2 billion (Down by -3%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2 billion (Up by 40.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.49 billion (Down by -40.6%)
- Wood: -$1.47 billion (Up by 2.8%)
Egypt has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for wheat and corn under the cereals product category.
Egyptian Export Companies
One Egyptian regional bank ranks among Forbes Global 2000 for 2018, namely Cairo-based Commercial International Bank.
Wikipedia lists some exports-related companies from Egypt. Selected examples are shown below.
- ABU QIR Fertilizers and Chemicals Industries (nitrogen fertilizers)
- Al-Mansour Automotive (automobiles)
- Arab American Vehicles (automobiles)
- Arab Contractors (construction materials)
- BiscoMisr (baked products)
- Challenger Ltd (oil, gas)
- Corona (confectionery, chocolate)
- Egyptian Natural Gas (oil, gas)
- Egy-Tech Engineering (automobiles)
- Juhayna (beverages, yogurt)
In macroeconomic terms, Egypt’s total exported goods represent 2.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($1.675 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 2.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 matches the 2.9% for 2021. Those metrics suggest a relatively consistant reliance on products sold on international markets for Egypt’s total economic performance, albeit based on a relatively short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Egypt’s unemployment rate averaged 7.323% for 2022, up from an average 7.292% one year earlier in 2021 according to data from the International Monetary Fund.
Egypt’s capital city is Cairo.
See also Egypt’s Top 10 Imports, Uganda’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports, Turkey’s Top Trading Partners and India’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook report on South Asia: Sri Lanka. Accessed on May 26, 2023
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Egypt. Accessed on May 26, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 26, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average)
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 26, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 26, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 26, 2023
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade . Accessed on May 26, 2023
Wikipedia, Egypt. Accessed on May 26, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 26, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Egypt. Accessed on May 26, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 26, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Cairo, Egypt. Accessed on May 26, 2023