The export of non-petroleum products from Egypt fell by 19 per cent from the start of the year to the end of September revealed the Ministry of Industry & Foreign Trade in a statement, a report said.

Exports stood at approximately $13.9 billion, down from the $17.2 billion that was registered during the same period in the previous year, added the Daily News Egypt report.

Meanwhile, exports in September decreased by 28.7 per cent, a total of $1.2 billion, compared to the $1.7 billion that was recorded in the same month in 2014, said the report.

The significant decline was partly attributed to the inability to provide the needed amounts of gas for factories to run at their full capacity. Another reason was the instability being witnessed in a number of Arab markets, added the report.

Products that witnessed a decline in exports include furniture, building materials, food products, agricultural products, engineering and electronic products, amongst others.

Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Qabil indicated however that he is currently coordinating with concerned parties in the country to take actions to resolve the problems that led to the decline in exports.

Concerning food industry exports, chairman of Agro Egypt for Agricultural Products Mohamed Roshdy said earlier that one of the most prominent obstacles facing the industry when it comes to exportation is the difficulty of transferring products to export markets in an appropriate period.

He added that the size of losses of agricultural products reached 30 per cent in some products and more than 50 per cent in other products, because of poor transportation and storage operations.

As the biggest importer of wheat in the world, Egypt’s exports haven’t only declined, but the country continues to suffer from a trade balance deficit due to the country’s imports exceeding exports in general, added the report.