The volume of trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Egypt has registered significant increase reaching SR117.5 billion ($ 31.3 billion) in the last 10 years (2004-2013), according to a financial report.
The report, compiled by Al-Eqtisadiyah daily, says the trade balance was in favor of the Saudi side at an estimated surplus of SR46.2 billion ($12.3 billion), or 39 percent of trade between the two countries in the above period.
In 2013, trade exchange between the two countries stood at SR20 billion ($5.3 billion) where Saudi exports to Egypt stood at nearly SR12.1 billion ($3.2 billion) whereas its imports from Egypt amounted to SR7.9 billion ($2.1 billion), the report said quoting data released by the Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI).
The trade balance between the two countries registered a surplus of SR4.2 billion ($1.1 billion) in favor of Saudi Arabia in 2013, or 21 percent of the trade volume in the same year, the report said.
Over the past five moths of the 2014, Saudi Arabia has been on top of countries receiving Egyptian exports at 6.4 billion Egyptian pounds (SR3.4 billion, or $900 million).
Egyptian exports to the Kingdom, however, registered different values in the past five months of the current year as follows: at EP1.240 billion (Jan.), EP1.285 billion (Feb), EP1.280 billion (March), EP1.261 billion (April), and EP 1.312 billion (May), according to figures released by the Import and Export Agency, an affiliate of the Egyptian Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade.
Building materials topped Egyptian exports to the Kingdom in the five-month period (Jan.-May) at EP1.234 billion, followed by engineering and electronic commodities (EP1.231 billion), food industries (EP1.044 billion), agro products (EP732 million), chemicals and fertilizer (EP452 million), and furniture (EP367 million), the report said.
In 2013, Saudi Arabia imported a series of commodities from Egypt, dominated by iron and steel products at SR1.6 billion, followed by orange (SR361.3 million), copper wire (SR270.3 million), onion (SR 264.2 million), cheese products (SR188 million), wooden seats (SR154.5 million), Portland cement (SR122.4 million), tiles and cubes (SR105.3 million), wooden furniture (SR91 million), watermelon seeds (SR 84.5 million), electric connectors (SR84.3 million), ceramics (SR81.7 million), cooking ovens (SR79.5 million), and other commodities at SR4.3 billion, thus bringing the total Saudi imports from Egypt to SR7.9 billion, the report said.
Arab News
11 August
