$ 27.3 billion worth Egypt's exports in year

Minister of Planning Osman Mohamed Osman expected commodity and service exports to increase to about $27.3 billion late this year compared to $22.8 billion last year.

The minister said that exports surged up by $2.2 billion. Service exports increased by $2.3 billion, the minister said, adding that this increase is due to the rise of Suez Canal revenues by about $600 million and tourism by $900 million.

The minister said foreign currencies are expected to increase to $32.2 billion versus $22.3 billion.

Foreign currency uses would surge up to $28.4 billion this year against $20.3 billion last year, the minister noted.

The minister attributed this increase to the rise of commodity imports from $18.3 billion last year to $22.2 billion this year, with an increase rate of 21.3 %.

The monetary policy stability in 2004-05 stands behind the continuous increase in payment balance.