Engineer Rashid Mohamed Rashid, Minister of Trade and Industry, confirmed that the effects of the financial crisis are not over yet, warning of optimism - as he says - to overcome the repercussions of the Egyptian economy. Rashid renewed his speech by saying that these effects will be extended at least until the beginning of 2010, pointing out that the recovery of the Egyptian economy from the repercussions of the crisis depends on the improvement in the U.S. and European economies, which are the index of exports as the growth of traditional markets for goods and products manufactured in Egypt
He said that the recession facing the state of the economies of these countries began to decline, however, the final results have still not been clearly defined, which makes us patiently wait for the final conclusion.
Rashid pointed out the lack of concern about the widening deficit in the balance of trade in Egypt in recent years, with imports exceeding exports, pointing out that most of these imports were capital goods directed to the domestic market or export. The deficit in the balance of trade during the first half of the fiscal year 2008-2009 reached $14.6 billion due to the significant decline in the foreign currency earnings owing to the global financial crisis. Also, industrial exports declined by 28% in January 2009, compared to the same period last year.
