Hommam Al Nassim 
Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait revealed that the government estimates that Suez Canal revenues will decline by 60% due to ongoing tensions in the Red Sea.
The Egyptian minister’s remarks came during his participation in the economic policy-making conference held in Cairo, as the Red Sea crisis entered its seventh month.
Maait pointed out that the crisis in the Red Sea, in addition to the slowdown in economic activity, the decline in trade and the restrictive policies imposed to deal with the effects of global inflationary crises, negatively affect Egypt’s tax and non-tax revenues.
Egypt’s planning minister, Hala al-Said, announced last month that Suez Canal revenues had fallen by 50 percent as a result of tensions in the Red Sea.
The Suez Canal is one of the most important sea lanes in the world, connecting Europe and Asia and is a major source of hard currency for Egypt.
In the fiscal year 2022-2023, the channel recorded revenues of $ 9.4 billion, the highest annual level recorded, an increase of 35% over the previous year.
The International Monetary Fund also announced in March that the volume of trade through the Suez Canal fell by 50% during the first two months of 2024 due to attacks in the Red Sea.
International trade has been disrupted in recent months as a result of disruptions in this vital sea lane, through which about 15% of global maritime trade passes.
This led some shipping companies to change routes from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope, increasing delivery times by 10 days or more.
The Red Sea crisis began with the entry of the Yemeni Houthi group on the war line with Gaza and launched attacks on shipping ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies, in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected since October 2023 to an Israeli war with US support.
Washington, London and other countries have tried to prevent Houthi attacks in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, while the Houthis consider U.S. and British ships to be military targets.
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