Egypt’s fertilizer and chemicals sector aims to reach $10 billion in exports in 2025, with the need for regularity in the process of pumping gas to factories, according to a statement by Chemical and Fertilizers Export Council (CEC) chairperson, Khaled Abu Al-Makarem.

The sector’s exports exceeded $5 billion in the first 8 months of 2024, Abu Al-Makarem added. He expected that the sector’s exports to increase by 8 to 10% by the end of 2024, to reach $8 billion.

Earlier in October, The Central Bank of Egypt reported that Egypt’s trade deficit grew to $39.6 billion in FY2023/2024, up from $31.2 billion the previous year, primarily pushed by a steep drop in oil exports, which fell by $8.1 billion to just $5.7 billion after it was heavily impacted by declining natural gas prices and reduced export volumes.

The non-oil trade deficit also expanded, increasing by $354.8 million to register at $31.9 billion.

This was driven by a rise in non-oil merchandise imports, which climbed to $58.8 billion, primarily due to higher imports of passenger vehicles, wheat, and cast iron.