Suez Canal revenues maintain downward trend, falling to $7.2B in FY23/24 amid Red Sea attacks

Cairo – July 18, 2024: Egypt’s Suez Canal reported a substantial decline in revenues during the previous fiscal year (FY2023/2024), registering $7.2 billion compared to a record-breaking $9.4 billion reported in FY2022/2023.

The number of ships transiting through the canal in FY2023/2024 fell to 20,148, down from 25,911 the year before, according to Suez Canal Authority (SCA) head Osama Rabie on Thursday.

The Suez Canal has reported continued declines in revenues and traffic after several months of attacks on vessels on the Red Sea by Houthi rebels, leading several major shipping companies to redirect ships through South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

The SCA head highlighted the impact of Red Sea tensions on the maritime transport market, trade movement, and global supply chains.

Rabie stressed that this emphasizes the importance of the Suez Canal as a key gateway, as taking alternative routes increases the distance, duration and costs of shipping.

During the first nine months of FY2023/2024, Suez Canal revenues dipped by 7.4 percent to $5.8 billion, compared to $6.2 billion, according to a central bank report. In the January – March 2024 period, the waterway’s revenues fell by 57.2 percent to register $959.3 million.

Despite the substantial drop in one of the country’s key sources of foreign currency and revenues, Egypt’s budget achieved an initial surplus of LE 857 billion in FY2023/2024, recording a whopping 422 percent increase compared to FY2022/2023’s LE 164 billion. This data was released on Wednesday by the finance minister.