During the Cabinet meeting, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade stated that the first ten months of 2025 records the highest decrease in the trade deficit and the largest increase in non-oil exports within ten years.
The Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade said that during the first ten months of this year, from January to October 2025, the Egyptian trade deficit recorded its lowest rate in ten years as decreased by 16%, compared to the trade deficit recorded during the first ten months of 2024.
He added that the first ten months of this year witnessed the highest rate of non-oil exports within ten years, as the value of non-oil exports during the period from January to October 2025 amounted to approximately $40.7 billion, an increase of 19% compared to the value achieved during the same period in 2024.
El-Khatib added that the first ten months of this year also recorded the highest annual increase in exports, with a value that exceeds $6.5 billion, and a growth rate of 19%, compared to the same period in 2024.
Engineer Hassan El-Khatib pointed out that during the first ten months of 2025, the largest trade volume in a decade was recorded with a value of $107.6 billion, an increase of 8% compared to the same period in 2024. He demonstrated that this improvement was supported by an increase of exports by 19%, in addition to a decrease of imports by 2% compared to the first ten months of 2024.
Regarding imports, the minister explained that imports structure in the trade balance, according to a three-year average (2023, 2024, and 2025), reflects a production-oriented trend that supports competitiveness. He indicated that 93% of imports consist of production supplies and strategic and principal commodities. He also emphasized that granting customs incentives contributes to reducing production costs and supporting the competitiveness of Egyptian product in international markets, demonstrating that trade openness aligns with the state's objective of increasing exports and attracting investments.
In this context, the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade cited the development of the trade balance during the period from 2004 to 2024, explaining that during the period from 2004 to 2007 the average volume of Egyptian exports reached approximately $5.97 billion, while 2008 witnessed a jump in exports with a growth rate of 91%, which is attributed to the increase in the volume of investments and the exploitation of production capacities, which contributed to increasing exports and reducing the trade deficit.
In this context, the minister confirmed that the increase in the volume of investments and the increase in the efficiency of utilizing production capacities are the two main drivers of export growth and the promotion of trade, which will positively reflect upon reduction of the trade deficit.
The minister then tackled the most prominent trade agreements Egypt has joined, referring that Egypt has free trade agreements with more than 100 countries worldwide. He reviewed the trade balance of these countries and the unexploited opportunities contributing to increased exports to them. He also pointed out that the trade agreements have yielded a double benefit for the national economy as for increasing exports and operation opportunities along with a continuous decline in the cost of tariff exemptions.
Engineer Hassan El-Khatib also reviewed a comparison between the structure of foreign investments during the period from 2004 to 2023, and discussed the future vision towards trade agreements, that includes activating Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) with the European Union, that aims to attract long-term European investments, in addition to activating the investment agreements that were announced during European-Egypt Investment Conference held in June 2024.
The Minister also reviewed the status of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement(AFCFTA), noting the approval to join the Investment Facilitation Agreement for Development (IFD) within the framework of the World Trade Organization, as well as signing Free Trade Agreement between Egypt and Serbia (FTA) that entered into force on September 1, 2025.
At the end of the presentation, the minister discussed the agreements being negotiated currently, as well as the agreements which feasibility is being studied with a number of countries.
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