Economic growth rate for the fiscal year of FY2020/2021, ending in March, is expected to go up to 2.8 percent for Q3
The Egyptian economy looks to be in the positive, maintaining upward momentum in growth rate during Q2 of the current fiscal year notes Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said.
Economic growth rate for the fiscal year of FY2020/2021 is expected to go up to 2.8 percent for Q3, ending in March, with it expected to go up to 5.3 percent by the end of the fiscal year in June.
El-Said clarified in a statement that the average growth rate of the Egyptian economy during the first half of the current fiscal year amounted to about 1.35 percent from July to December last year, compared to 5.6 percent during the same period of the previous fiscal year.
She noted that this was driven by the impact of the pandemic.
El-Said highlighted that the global economic recession interrupted international trade patterns leading to a decline which negatively affected the industrial, export and tourism sectors alike.
Multiple economic activities saw positive growth rates during Q1 of FY20/21, said El-Said, including transport and storage sectors, agriculture, health, and education. The sectors most affected and in contraction were sectors such as tourism, manufacturing industries and the Suez Canal.
She also pointed out that despite the challenges of the coronavirus crisis and the resulting decline in global trade movement by 9 percent, the global economy shrinking by 3.5 percent, and the drop in oil prices, the Suez Canal maintained the level of its revenues.
This was attributed to a package of attractive and flexible incentives related to marketing and pricing policies, to attract new customs that contributed to reducing the size of the downturn in activity.
