A source in the Suez Canal said that the decline in trade flows through the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks will have a negative impact on the Egyptian economy.
The source added that the canal will lose revenue from ship transit fees, as compared to data on the Suez Canal in November and December, saying: “Things don’t look very good.”
In October 2023, 2,345 ships passed through the Suez Canal, and in November 2,264, 81 fewer ships. In terms of revenue, revenues for November were $854.7 million, while revenues for October were $880.1 million.
Economists say it is clear that the losses in December will be greater than in November, noting that it is bad news for Egypt, because economically, the Suez Canal is the country’s main lifeline. Suez Canal revenues, worth about $10 billion a year, are one of the few reliable ways to obtain hard foreign currency.
About 10% of global oil trade, 8% of LNG trade, and about 12% of total global trade in various commodities pass through the Suez Canal.