Egypt has imported $3.2bn worth of passenger cars in the past year, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Gamal Negm said.

Negm explained, during a conference hosted by the CBE on Thursday, that Egypt has seen excessive importing in the last period, which negatively impacted local industries, especially small and medium industries.

He added that Egypt has also imported mobile phones worth of $1.1bn, as well as $1.04m worth of clothing.

Negm further defended the CBE’s latest decisions to introduce regulations on imports, saying they were necessary to protect local production and industries.