Egypt s annual revenue from the Suez Canal fell 7.2 percent in fiscal 2008/09 to $4.74 billion, the Suez Canal Authority Chairman Ahmed Fadel said on Sunday. The canal, one of Egypt s top sources of foreign currency, earned a record $5.11 billion in the last fiscal year, but a fall in global trade slowed earnings after a peak last August. Fadel said 19,354 ships passed through the waterway, which connects the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, compared with 21,080 in 2007/08. He added that the global crisis had hit revenues from September, but flows had improved gradually in recent months. The annual figure was largely forecast by analysts, based on monthly reports of Suez income. Although canal revenue has dropped precipitously over the last two quarters, the upturn in global activity suggests the worst is over for the decline in revenue, HC Securities wrote in a research report early this month. Fadel said the authority had financed its own dredging and deepening of the canal, which was now 96 percent complete. When finished, the canal will be 66 feet deep, from the current 62 feet, allowing it to handle ships over 240,000 tons, up from the current 200,000 tonne limit. Beltone Financial economist Reham ElDesoki said global trade would likely take some time to rebound. We expect revenues to inch up to $4.8 billion in fiscal year 2009/10, as we do not expect a significant pick-up in Europe yet, she wrote. If the Authority raises its transit fees, it would not have an effect on revenues before April 2010, when new transit fees are usually implemented , she added.
