Egypt’s real gross domestic product rose by 4.5% in the 2024-25 financial year, compared with 2.4% the previous year, Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk announced on Saturday.
The expansion was supported by reforms tied to IMF financing and a pickup in manufacturing activity, Reuters reported.
The country, home to the Arab world’s largest population, has been grappling with economic challenges following a March 2024 currency devaluation, persistently high inflation, and the fallout from the war in Gaza.
Inflation, which surged to a record 38% in September 2023, has started to ease but remains elevated.
Urban consumer price inflation slowed to 13.9% in July, down from 14.9% in June.
Egypt’s fiscal year runs from July through the end of June, and the government had initially projected GDP growth of 4.2%.
Don’t Miss This:
Egypt Pushes Ahead With Drilling Three New Wells At Zohr Gas Field As Output Rises
Over the past year, Cairo stepped up reforms under an $8 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund and secured $24 billion in investment from the United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund, including a major land deal along the Mediterranean coast.
Reviewing Egypt’s financial results at a press conference, Kouchouk revealed that the country lost 145 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.99 billion) in Suez Canal revenues in 2024-25 due to Red Sea shipping disruptions caused by Houthi militant attacks.
In the prior year, Suez Canal revenues had reached $7.2 billion. He also noted that Egypt imported 4.5 million metric tons of wheat during the year at a cost of $1.2 billion, more than 21% less than the previous year.
While Egypt remains one of the world’s largest wheat importers, requiring over 8 million tons annually to produce subsidised bread for more than 70 million citizens, the government purchased just over 3.9 million tons from local farmers, short of its 4–5 million ton target.
Don’t Miss This:
Egypt And Qatar Discuss Activating $7.5 Billion ‘partnership Package’, Egypt Says
Image Credit: Reuters
