عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Egypt’s Trade Deficit Narrows by 13.3%

The Great Pyramids in Giza in Egypt. March 2020. (Reuters)
The Great Pyramids in Giza in Egypt. March 2020. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Egypt’s Trade Deficit Narrows by 13.3%

The Great Pyramids in Giza in Egypt. March 2020. (Reuters)
The Great Pyramids in Giza in Egypt. March 2020. (Reuters)

Egypt’s trade deficit narrowed by 13.3 percent YoY to $3.1 billion in April from $3.5 billion, according to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Sunday.

The North African nation’s exports surged by 47.4 percent to $2.84 billion in April. The rise was ascribed to higher exports of medicines and pharmaceuticals, by 77.2 percent, and fresh fruits, by 60.2 percent.

Egypt's imports increased by 8.1 percent to $5.92 billion in April, with higher imports of passenger cars by 58.9 percent, and iron raw materials and condensates by 58.6 percent.

On another note, Egypt’s Suez Canal revenue rose to a record $5.84 billion in its 2020-21 financial year, up from $5.72 billion in the previous year.

The Suez Canal Authority said the revenues in the first six months of this year increased to about $3 billion compared with $2.76 billion in the same period last year.

In the meantime, an Egyptian government official told Reuters that Egypt withdrew in one year around 2 million square meters of lands from tourism companies over their failure to meet their commitments.

The lands are located in Marsa Alam, which overlooks the Red Sea.

The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that more withdrawals are expected in the future.

He added that the country withdrew around 27 million square meters of the Red Sea lands and Quseer in the period between June 2013 and June 2021.

The reason behind this decision is the companies’ failure to commit to the timeline of the projects. This means that any company that implemented 10 percent or less of the project had its land withdrawn.

Major Egyptian investors whose lands were withdrawn are Hamada Abo El Enein, chairman and managing director of Sharm Dreams Company for Tourist Investment, the Egyptian Resorts Company SAE (ERC), and businessman Mohammed Al-Baker.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
TT
TT

IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."