Growth rate
Conversely, the bank has lowered its expectations for Egypt's economic growth during the current year to 2.8 percent from its previous estimates of 3.5 percent.
The Prime Minister concluded, during an inspection tour of several factories in the 10th of Ramadan industrial city, approximately 55 km from Cairo on the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road, on Saturday, that Egypt's economy will return to normal by the end of this year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the growth rate of the Egyptian economy reached 3.8 percent during the last fiscal year 2022-2023 and will reach 3 percent during the current fiscal year 2023-2024, expecting the growth of Egypt’s economy to rise to 4.5 percent in the next fiscal year 2024-2025.
The IMF expected, in the "World Economic Outlook Update January 2024" issued on Tuesday, the Egyptian economy to grow by 3 percent during the current fiscal year, compared to previous expectations in October of a 3.6 percent growth.
The government’s target for the next fiscal year (FY2023/2024) is set at 4.2 percent, she stated during a cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on Thursday
The IMF anticipates that consumer prices in Egypt will increase from 13.2 percent in the fiscal year ending in 2022 to 35.7 percent 2022/2023, followed by a decrease to 25.9 percent in 2023/2024.
In its report, the Industry Committee confirmed that the industrial sector is one of the leading sectors in increasing productivity and labor absorption capacity, and growing export capabilities.
Maait added Monday during a conference to review the financial performance indicators for the current fiscal year budget (2022/2023) that the unemployment rate fell to 7.2 percent in June 2022 by providing 826,000 jobs.
The bank had raised its forecast in April by 0.3 percent to reach 5.6 percent in January.
El-Said noted during thh cabinet meeting that the growth rate during the third quarter of the current fiscal year (January - March 2022) reached 5.4 percent.
In its latest World Economic Outlook issued Tuesday, the IMF expected that Egypt's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 would grow by 5 percent.
El-Said explained that the growth rate during the first half of the current fiscal year reached 9 percent, adding that the growth rate is expected to reach between 6.2 percent to 6.5 percent by the end of this year, to be one of the highest growth rates that were expected, as it exceeded the expectations of international institutions for growth rates during this year.
In a press conference held by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli on Wednesday, the minister said that the government expects the growth rate to reach 6.2-6.5 percent instead of 5.4-5.6 percent.
It means that the average growth rate for the first half of the year, from July to December, hit 9%, the premier said in a press conference following the government meeting held at the New Administrative Capital.
Maait pointed out that despite the sharp rise in oil prices and shipping costs, as a result of the good management of the repercussions of the post-pandemic outbreak, as well as the positive economic performance.
Maait added that the draft budget for the fiscal year 2022-2023 will witness greater spending on improving people's lives and facilitating decent livelihoods, in implementation of presidential directives.
This came in an infographic report published by the Information Center under the title of "The Egyptian economy records the highest quarterly growth rate in 20 years".
The minister explained that Egypt seeks to sustain the downward path of debt rates to GDP by adopting the implementation of a public debt management strategy based on diversifying sources of financing and issuing “dollar” bonds, “Eurobond” bonds, “green” bonds, and “sustainable development” bonds and sukuk.
The report expected an increase in GDP growth rates in Egypt during 2022 to reach 5.2 percent, and then 5.8 percent in 2026.
The country seeks to contain the rate of inflation to settle at 6 percent, unemployment at 7.3 percent and poverty at 28.5 percent, she said.
