Egypt’s exports to Nile Basin countries hit 1.2 bln USD in 2018

CAIRO, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) — Egypt’s official statistics agency said on Sunday that the country’s exports to Nile Basin countries hit 1.204 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, compared to 1.113 billion dollars in 2017.

Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAMPAS) said in a statement that exports to Nile Basin countries witnessed an increase of 8.2 percent in 2018.

The Nile Basin countries are Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Eritrea.

Egyptian imports from the Nile Basin countries amounted to about 668 million dollars in 2018, compared to 380 million dollars in 2017, an increase of 75.8 percent, according to CAMPAS.

As Egypt’s top importer among African countries, Sudan imported goods and services worth 399.3 million dollars in 2018, constituting 33.3 percent of Egypt’s total exports to the Nile Basin countries.

Kenya came in the second with imports worth 354.6 million dollars, followed by Ethiopia with 169 million dollars.

Egypt’s economy has been battered by years of turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

However, the country has recently shown signs of economic improvement amid strict economic reforms, including tax hikes and energy subsidy cuts recommended by the International Monetary Fund that supports Egypt’s economic reform plan with a 12-billion-dollar loan.