Despite accounting for nearly 9.5% of Egypt’s non-oil exports in fiscal year 2021/2022, Central Bank data shows that food brought in more revenue than other non-oil products. Food exports range from raw materials to semi-finished goods and finished products, including fresh, chilled and frozen vegetables, fats, greases, oils, and dairy products. The government is supporting local private-sector producers and traders to boost exports. Karim Abu Ghali, a member of the Food Export Council, told Al Ahram English in March, “There is a clear political will to support the export sector.” However, local efforts alone may not be enough. A case…
Author: Tamer Hafez
Egypt and Argentina have similar economic structures. Both countries have dollar-dependent, diverse economies, and they are net importers with young, increasingly demanding workforces. The difference is in how long their governments have dealt with rampant inflation. Central Bank data shows Egypt’s annualized inflation rate went into double-digit territory in March 2022, reaching 30.6% by April 2023. Argentina’s inflation rate crossed 10% at the start of 2015, reaching 104.3% in March 2023. Triple-digit inflation rates don’t just increase prices, they push top talent to leave their employers, if not the country, in search of higher incomes. In an October 2022 tweet…
The last time inflation was higher than it is right now in Egypt, Amr Diab had just released the third of his 36 studio albums. In June 1986, CAPMAS reported urban inflation had reached 35.1%. In April, the Central Bank (CBE) said annual urban inflation was 30.6%, and annual core inflation, which includes basic foodstuffs and other essentials, hovered around 38.6% for the second consecutive month. For consumers, prices of imported goods have soared beyond those official figures, primarily because the pound lost half its value (from EGP 16 to nearly EGP 31) against the dollar from January 2022 until…
Home to more than 100 million, mostly young, citizens, Egypt sees that leveraging digital technologies, tools, and solutions are imperative to creating a sustainable economy. They would ensure government services conveniently reach all residents, create jobs and increase digital exports. Despite the fast-paced nature of the sector, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (ICT) Amr Talaat believes that maintaining the same vision is essential. “It is imperative that our strategy and strategic goals remain the same,” he told Business Monthly on the sidelines of the AmCham Egypt Pre-Annual General Meeting held May 5. “It … reflects positively on long-term planning,…
With a young, vibrant, and fast-growing population, Egypt’s freshwater needs are on the rise. That could put the country in jeopardy in the next few years. A March 2022 article on the State Information Service (SIS) website said 98% of the country’s freshwater comes from one source: the Nile. The problem is this supply can’t exceed 55.5 billion cubic meters a year, according to a 1959 treaty signed by Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Some experts fear the supply could decrease while the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam fills. As of 2021, the SIS estimated the country’s water per…
Higher food prices and supply disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war put a spotlight on one of Egypt’s most serious problems: importing too much of its food supplies. IFPRI-Egypt, an agriculture think tank, estimated in a January paper that imports account for more than 40% of the country’s calorie consumption. A breakdown shows Egypt imports 90% of its cooking oils, is the world’s biggest wheat importer, and relies almost solely on Russia and Ukraine for essential commodities. The International Fund for Agriculture Development estimates 85% of Egypt’s wheat imports and 73% of its sunflower oil come from those two nations.…
For Egypt, a vital part of achieving sustainable economic growth is increasing manufacturing and exports while reducing imports. “Localizing industry and expanding production is the path to development and job-rich economic growth,” Finance Minister Mohamed Maait stressed in June. Egypt already has a solid manufacturing base compared to other African nations. “Egypt is Africa’s top manufacturer by value-added,” according to a 2022 OECD report. In 2019, the country accounted for 22% of Africa’s manufacturing value added. That helped Egypt’s economy become the second biggest on the continent, just after Nigeria and ahead of South Africa, according to the IMF. However,…
For industrialized economies seeking long-term prosperity, Africa is indispensable. “Many nations are after Africa’s earth minerals,” said Ivan Eland, a senior fellow with the Independent Institute, a U.S. nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization. In addition, “Africa’s expanding population — which will double by 2050 to account for 25% of the world’s population — [is] a huge market for their export.” Nonetheless, only a few large economies have invested heavily in the continent. According to data aggregator Statistica, as of October 2021, 51% of Africa’s bilateral trade was with the E.U., China and India. From 2006 to 2016, Russia, Turkey, India and…
When it comes to lucrative investments, the opportunities across all parts of Egypt’s digital economy are undeniable. The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology said on its website: “Objectives entail developing the ICT infrastructure; fostering digital inclusion; achieving the transition to a knowledge-based economy; building capacities and encouraging innovation; fighting corruption; ensuring cybersecurity; and promoting Egypt’s position at the regional and international levels.” An indispensable part of any digital economy is the ability to securely and conveniently process online payments. “Given the key role … digitization plays in the financial lives of more and more of the world’s population, electronic…
As commuters across the Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area (GCMA) would attest, two things stand out about Egypt’s capital, home to more than 22 million people. The first is that traffic is a nightmare. In a research note, the World Bank estimated that Cairo’s traffic jams cost 4% of the country’s GDP, making Egypt among the countries most affected by traffic congestion. In New York and Jakarta, for example, gridlocks cost less than 1% of their respective GDP. The bank’s 2014 paper said: “Traffic congestion is a serious problem in the GCMA with large and adverse effects on both the quality…