CAIRO- Remittances from Egyptians abroad rose 20.4 percent year-on-year in September to $1.8 billion, the central bank said on Sunday.

The figure means remittances grew by 1.5 percent in the first quarter of the 2018/2019 financial year to $5.9 billion.

Remittances in September of last year were at $1.5 billion and stood at $5.8 billion in the first quarter of the 2017/2018 fiscal year, according to the central bank.

Egypt's fiscal year runs from July to June.

Remittances have become a crucial source of hard currency for the import-dependant country, which has struggled to boost exports or foreign direct investment despite economic reforms tied to a $12 billion IMF loan programme it began in late 2016.

(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Dale Hudson) ((Yousef.Saba@thomsonreuters.com; +201222184730))