A jump in trade between Israel and Egypt, most of it related to gas

Israeli Radio EMESS said that the volume of trade between Israel and Egypt recorded a sharp increase in the month of June, but a deep examination of the data reveals that a central part of the numbers results from purchases of Israeli gas by Egypt, and not from a broad expansion in trade between the two economies, according to data published by Doron Baskin, a Middle East affairs expert.

The Hebrew radio added that Egyptian exports to Israel jumped by 148% in June to reach $38.9 million, while Egyptian imports from Israel rose by 127% and reached $266.4 million.

However, the annual data shows the gap. In 2025, Egyptian imports from Israel amounted to about 2.34 billion dollars, of which about 2.28 billion dollars were fuel, oils, and mineral products, led by natural gas, which means that almost all Egyptian imports were related to the field of energy.

She pointed out that Egyptian exports to Israel remain limited in scope, as Egypt's exports to Israel in June amounted to less than $39 million, constituting less than 1% of total Egyptian exports that month, which amounted to about $5 billion.

However, there are trends of growth in trade that are not directly related to energy. In the first half of 2026, Egyptian exports to Israel increased by about 24%, and Israel imports from Egypt building materials, chemicals, plastics, equipment, and food products.

Israeli economist Doron Baskin believes that part of the increase in Israeli imports from Egypt reflects an attempt to find alternatives to Turkish goods, which is an estimated reading and not official data.

In conclusion, despite the tension and political coldness between Tel Aviv and Cairo, economic relations continue and expand in certain areas, but the total number of trade may create a misleading impression, because the dominant component remains Israeli gas that Egypt buys, while trade in other areas is still much limited.

Relations between Israel and Egypt have witnessed noticeable political and diplomatic tension in the recent period, but economic agreements, especially in the field of energy, remain outside the scope of this tension.

Egypt imports natural gas from Israel's fields in the Mediterranean under long-term agreements, making Cairo a major market for Israeli energy.

Despite local calls in Egypt sometimes to re-evaluate these agreements due to regional conditions, mutual dependence in the field of energy and trade remains a decisive factor in the continuation of minimal economic communication between the two countries.