Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid has said that the volume of industrial exports has fallen by about 7% over the past six months as a result of the global financial crisis, while the latter has had no significant impact on the volume of investments in the industrial sector during the same period. Speaking to the press, Rachid said it is particularly difficult to predict the repercussions of the financial crisis on the Egyptian economy now. He also affirmed that it was too early to clearly define the magnitude of this decline, since no definitive figures have been issued yet in this regard.
Meanwhile, Cairo Chamber of Commerce said in a statement on Friday that the losses of the productive and trade sectors in Egypt may be as high as $ 4 billion in the fiscal year ending on June 30 due to the repercussions of the global financial crisis.
The report adds that exports have decreased due to the decline in global demand, and that this has in turn affected jobs and salaries and has weakened the local purchasing power. According to the report, tourism revenues will decline by 15.6% (from LE 59 billion in the last financial year to about LE 50 billion), while remittances of Egyptians working abroad are likely to go down by $ 600 million.
