The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation announced that the Suez Canal activity recorded an annual contraction rate of about 52% during the fiscal year 2024/2025, affected by geopolitical tensions in the region.

The ministry added that the Suez Canal activity continued to decline by 5.5% during the fourth quarter of the past fiscal year, albeit at a much slower pace than the contraction rate witnessed during the corresponding quarter of the previous year, when activity shrank by 68.2%. This was due to the decline in maritime trade movement in the Red Sea region and the decrease in the number of ships passing through the Suez Canal and their cargo loads, which prompted the Suez Canal Authority to offer incentive packages and reduce transit fees to mitigate the negative impact.

The extraction sector also witnessed a decrease of nearly 9%, due to a contraction in petroleum activity by 7.5% and natural gas by about 19.1%. Despite the contraction, the rate of decline in the extraction sector began to slow during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, recording about 7.4%, due to development works carried out in natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and other Egyptian gas reservoirs.

The Egyptian economy continued its strong recovery during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2024/2025, recording a growth rate of 5%, the highest in three years, bringing the annual growth rate to 4.4%. This reflects the resilience of the Egyptian economy in facing external shocks, driven by policies supporting macroeconomic stability and commitment to public investment governance, as well as the implementation of policies and procedures within the framework of the national structural reform program.

Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, confirmed that the growth rate exceeded initial expectations, driven by strong performance in non-oil manufacturing industries, tourism, telecommunications, and financial intermediation. This reflects an economic model based on the most productive sectors with the greatest ability to access export markets, benefiting from the advanced infrastructure established as a supportive base for manufacturing and investment, as detailed in the “National Narrative for Economic Development: Policies Supporting Growth and Employment” launched on September 7.