Egypt-Israel trade sees dramatic surge in June despite Gaza war, regional tensions

Israel recorded an increase in economic ties with Egypt, with official data showing a doubling of exports and imports between the two sides during the final month of the financial year that ended in June 2025/2026.

This came after a relative slowdown in the growth rate of trade, which exceeded 24% between January and the end of May of the same year.

Official data showed a rise in trade between Egypt and Israel during June 2026, with Egyptian exports to Tel Aviv rising by about 148% and Egyptian imports from Israel increasing by about 127% year-on-year.

Trade statistics for June alone showed an increase in both directions.

Egyptian exports to Israel rose to $38.857 million in June, compared with $15.677 million in June 2025, an increase of $23.18 million, or 147.9%.

At the same time, Egyptian imports from Israel jumped to $266.376 million, compared with $117.294 million a year earlier, an increase of $149.082 million, or 127.1%.

However, during the first half of 2026, Egyptian imports from Israel fell to about $1.188 billion, compared with $1.234 billion in the same period of 2025, a decline of about $45.7 million, or 3.7%.

The total value of trade between the two sides during the first half of the year therefore fell slightly to about $1.362 billion, compared with about $1.374 billion during the same period last year, with a change in the composition of trade in favour of Egyptian exports.

The latest report by Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics showed that Egyptian exports to Israel rose between January and June 2026 to about $174.1 million, compared with $140.1 million during the same period in 2025, an increase of $34.1 million, or 24.3%.

Uptick in trade

June figures show that the increase in Egyptian imports from Israel during a single month, at about $149.1 million, was more than three times the increase in Egyptian exports to Israel during the same month last year.

A comparison between cumulative and monthly data shows a clear difference in the trade trajectory.

During the first six months of the year, Egyptian exports to Israel rose by 24.3%, while imports from Israel fell by 3.7%. In June alone, however, both exports and imports surged.

The data was included in the June 2026 monthly foreign trade bulletin issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics.

It uses preliminary 2026 data against 2025 figures that were reviewed by the finance, foreign trade and industry ministries and the government statistics agency.

According to the latest available 2025 merchandise trade data from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment, Egyptian exports to Israel were led by salt, sulphur, stone, cement and lime products, worth about $88 million.

These were followed by inorganic chemicals at $28.2 million; electrical and electronic machinery and equipment at $27.1 million; plastics and articles thereof at $20.4 million; vegetable, fruit and nut products at $13.9 million; articles of stone and cement at $12 million; paper, cardboard and articles thereof at $10.5 million; and vegetables, roots, potatoes and edible tubers at $9.6 million, in addition to cement and building materials.

A source familiar with the matter at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce told The New Arab that official statistics on exports and imports cover goods destined for Tel Aviv but exclude those allocated to the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

The latter are recorded as part of trade between Egypt and Palestine under the trade classification of Arab countries.

In the same context, official statistics showed that natural gas and mineral products dominate Egyptian imports from Israel, according to 2025 data from the government statistics agency.

Egyptian imports of mineral fuels, oils, waxes and bitumen amounted to about $2.28 billion, compared with total imports from Israel of about $2.34 billion.

Foreign trade data show that Israel was among the most important Asian countries in Egypt's trade during the first half of 2026.

Total trade between the two countries, based on import and export data, stood at about $1.36 billion during the period, compared with about $1.37 billion in the first half of 2025, with a change in the composition of trade in favour of Egyptian exports.

Factories unable to meet needs

In this context, customs and logistics expert Nadia Al-Morshdy attributed the increase in imports to factories' need to purchase production supplies because manufacturers are unable to meet their needs from the domestic market.

She warned that the government does not appear interested in increasing reliance on manufacturing to reduce imports while encouraging investment in real estate and infrastructure sectors that consume most state investment.

Al-Morshdy told TNA that pressure on foreign trade during the first half of 2026 came from several simultaneous factors, including: higher energy import costs, increased intermediate goods, production inputs and supplies for factories and investment projects, ranging from heavy transport and technological equipment to growth in some categories of consumer and food goods, wheat, cars and durable goods.

Meanwhile, a report by the government statistics agency showed that the largest single increase in Egypt's overall imports of intermediate goods came from imports of raw forms of non-monetary gold.

The value of these imports rose to about $4.05 billion during the first half of the year, compared with only $240 million a year earlier, an increase of nearly $3.81 billion.

During the first half of the year, Egypt's total exports rose to $28.02 billion, compared with $26.12 billion, while non-oil exports reached about $24.07 billion, compared with $23.79 billion, according to the statistics agency.

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.