The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said on May 23 the volume of Egypt’s foreign trade exchange recorded EGP 47.7 bn in the first half of FY 2018/19 versus EGP 42.85 bn in the year-ago period, Invest-Gate reports.

With China topping the 14-strong list of most important trade partners, “the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and China hit USD 8.4 bn in the first half of FY 2018/19 against USD 7.5 bn in the same period in FY 2017/18,” CBE revealed in a recent report.

The US ranked the second, with trade volume estimated at USD 3 bn, while the UAE came in third place at nearly USD 2.79 bn, followed by Italy at about USD 2.5 bn, the central bank added.

“Saudi Arabia occupied the fifth position with the volume of trade exchange standing at USD 2.5 bn, followed by Germany (USD 2.1 bn), Britain (USD 2.02 bn), Russia (USD 1.86 bn), Switzerland (USD 1.69 bn), and Turkey (USD1.68 bn),” according to the report.

Trade exchange represents 45.1% of Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP), the World Bank announced in 2018. The Egyptian market has been gradually opening up, especially since the country signed an agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 2006 and has been preparing a free trade treaty with the US.