Egypt’s trade deficit declined by 12.4% year-on-year (YoY) in June, according to data released on Monday by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The monthly bulletin revealed that the deficit value of trade balance reached $3.21 billion in June, down from $3.66 billion for the same month of the previous year.
The country’s exports dropped by 3.3% YoY in June to $3.75, versus $3.88 billion for the same month of the previous year.
The value of imports also decreased by 7.7 % to $6.96 billion during June 2022, versus $7.54 billion in June 2021.
Separately, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, Heike Harmgart, said that bank will help finance the decommissioning of 5GW of inefficient gas-fired power plants in Egypt from 2023 while pledging up to $1 billion for renewables.
EBRD would raise up to $300 million in sovereign financing for projects including work to stabilize Egypt's grid, adding battery storage, developing the local supply chain for renewables, and retraining workers, Harmgart added.
She explained that a separate $1 billion pledged for renewables would be about one tenth of the private funding needed for 10GW of mainly wind-powered projects planned by the government by 2028.
Egypt is a natural gas producer that is trying to cut down on domestic consumption so that it can export more to Europe at a time of high prices and demand resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
It has a power surplus after installing three huge gas-fired power plants built by Siemens from 2015.
The government is hoping gas exports can help contain pressure on Cairo’s currency after the Ukraine war triggered the latest dip in dollar inflows from portfolio investment and tourism.
The role of gas is set to be an issue of dispute at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in November.
Climate activists say there should a rapid transition away from gas. As host of COP27, Egypt is giving a voice to some African states that want to continue using gas as a transition fuel to develop their economies.
About 3GW of the planned 10GW of new renewable power would be made available for a pilot phase in the production of green hydrogen in Egypt's Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna, Harmgart said.
Some would go to replacing capacity lost through the decommissioning of the thermal power plants.
Egypt has announced a string of memoranda of understanding for green hydrogen and ammonia projects at Ain Sokhna.
