Stable exports and a 1.7% rise in imports were observed in September. The coverage rate in volume fell 1.4% to reach 78.4%.

Exports and imports saw respective price rises of 2% and 2.9% respectively, the National Institute of Statistics (French: INS) said Friday in a note on foreign trade at constant prices.

The volume of foreign trade dropped 4.3% for exports and 6.3% for imports in Q3.

//Stagnating exports//  

The stagnation seen in export volumes in September is the result of growth reported in several sectors which was offset by decline in the exports of electrical engineering industries, (-6.8%) and energy and lubricants (-23.3%).

The sector of agriculture and agri-food industries  posted the steepest increase in volume with 24.8%.  Textile-clothing and leather followed suit with 7.3%  as was the case for diverse manufacturing industries.

//Higher imports//

Higher volume of imports (+1.7%) in September was driven by higher sales of non-energy products, on the one hand, and energy imports shrinking considerably (-25%).

Besides, rising food supplies (50.4%) pushed the volume of imports higher.  Purchase volumes of consumer and capital goods likewise grew 1.3% and 3.1%, respctively.

//Non-energy trade posts rise//

The volume of non-energy exports in September edged up 1.6% , while a 6.7% rise was reported in the volume of  imports.

Export and import prices increased 2.4% and 2.3%, respectively, which resulted in a stagnation in the volume of trade for non-energy commodities (93.1%).

Source: Tap News Agency