CAIRO: As nationwide pro-democracy protests in Egypt entered day 13, the country's banking system came back online and businesses tried to resume a semblance of normalcy. As a result of the unrest, some analysts now expect a more conservative growth rate of 3.7 percent from a previous 5.3 percent. Credit Agricole said in a report released Friday that Egypt's ongoing political crisis is costing the country at least $310 million per day. Ministers of the new cabinet gave a press conference Saturday, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq and including Trade Minister Samiha Fawzi Ibrahim, Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmy, Finance Minister Samir Radwan and Social Solidarity Minister Ali Moselhi. Radwan, former senior economist at the International Labor Organization, replaces Youssef Boutros-Ghali; while Ibrahim, former deputy trade minister, replaces Rachid Mohamed Rachid. Energy Minister Hassan Younes and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tarek Kamel kept their posts in the new cabinet. Due to the nationwide protests, in which hundreds of thousands repeatedly demanded the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, the nation's vital trade sector was severely affected. Exports fell 6 percent in January to LE 7.7 billion, Ibrahim said. Protests largely paralyzed the economy, but that was in large part attributed to the curfew put in place starting Jan. 28, which disrupted the transportation and distribution of goods. Unlike what many expected, however, there were little to no signs of a food or fuel shortage in the country, and prices did not skyrocket as much as initially feared. Ibrahim said authorities were providing extra food supplies to stabilize prices in the market and avoid shortages, Reuters reported, adding that the ministry's plan to combat price rises was to increase the supply of commodities. One fruit and vegetable vendor told Daily News Egypt that his store was well-stocked and that he had no trouble getting supplies. Prices of some products did see an increase but not as drastic as some might have expected. Ibrahim told the conference that in some cases the prices of fruits and vegetables fell because they were not being exported, which meant more supply in the local market. She added that commodities are indeed available in storages — including wheat, sugar, flour, rice, among others — and again the main issue was transporting them around the capital. Factories in the country's vibrant industrial sector also began resuming operations gradually. Fahmy said gas consumption was down 18 percent, and more gas was sent to electricity plants as well as lowering the amount of mazut so it can be used by industries. He assured that the sense of a fuel shortage was mainly felt in Cairo due to the curfew and limited time to distribute. This problem did not appear in areas with no curfew, and was limited in Alexandria and Suez. Around 40 percent of gas stations in Cairo are operated by foreign companies, which had closed during the past week but began reopening Saturday. Moselhi quelled concerns of a shortage in subsidized commodities, reiterated that wheat supplies were intact and said that large bread bakeries started production at midnight Saturday, with medium-sized and small bakeries working at 4 am in order for the bread to be ready by curfew. Radwan said that the he had contacted the World Bank — mainly Egypt's former investment minister Mahmoud Mohieldin — and they are prepared to help the country deal with effects of the recent developments. He assured that the ministry will bear the burden of rising commodities prices, which have seen a rise on the back of a hike in oil prices. Egypt's stock market said it will not open Monday as originally planned and will remain closed Tuesday. It will announce the resumption of trade 48 hours beforehand. As Egyptians queued up at banks that were finally open, some warned citizens against a panic-driven attempt to pull all the money out of their accounts. One message circulated via Blackberry Messenger and SMS urged the following: “[Please] don't withdraw more money than you need or buy [dollars] if you don't need them. Let's help our economy stay strong. …Egypt is now ours again. Purchase Egyptian products.” Citadel Capital, a private equity firm, resumed operations on Sunday, and said in a statement that its operations in other countries had been operating as usual. Unrest in Egypt may have a short-term impact on its investment and divestiture plans, it said: "In the long term, however, Citadel Capital believes that this difficult period will result in a more stable and faster-growing Egypt and region." The nation's once vibrant tourism sector, one of the main revenue earners, will likely be the hardest to revitalize after numerous reports of attacks on foreigners, mainly media correspondents. Thousands of tourists and expats were evacuated over the past week, and many multinational companies also sent their foreign staff home, which will in turn affect their business operations.
