CAIRO, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Trade exchange between Egypt and member states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) hit 2.952 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, up 32.2 percent year on year, Egypt's statistics agency said Tuesday.

In a statement, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said exports to COMESA countries amounted to 1.908 billion dollars in 2018, up 17.2 percent from 2017.

Meanwhile, Egypt's imports from COMESA countries reached 1.44 billion dollars in 2018, an increase of 72.6 percent year on year, it added.

Egypt's economy has been battered by years of turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

However, the country has recently shown signs of economic improvement amid strict economic reforms, including tax hikes and energy subsidy cuts recommended by the International Monetary Fund that supports Egypt's economic reform plan with a 12-billion-dollar loan.