A Reuters poll expected the Egyptian economy to slow down to 3.1% in the 2020-2021 fiscal year that started this month due to the Corona pandemic, down from 3.5% in a similar poll forecast three months ago.
Reuters expects Egypt's GDP growth to recover in 2021-2022 to 5 percent, knowing that Egypt recorded a 5 percent growth in gross domestic product in the first three months of this year.
Egypt's economy has recovered in the past three years due to a marked improvement in tourism, increased remittances from Egyptians working abroad and the start of production of natural gas fields discovered in recent times. But since the outbreak of the Coronavirus began, tourism collapsed, gas prices tumbled, and strong remittances from workers abroad became threatened with declining oil revenues in the Arab Gulf states where many Egyptians work.
The Egyptian government expected to achieve an economic growth rate of 3.5% in the fiscal year 2020-2021, which started in July, but growth could slow to 2% if the Corona pandemic continues until the end of the year. While the International Monetary Fund expected the growth of the Egyptian economy by 5.9% in 2020, as the Egyptian government imposed serious reforms, among them a sharp devaluation of the currency, large reductions in energy support, in addition to the implementation of value-added tax, so that many of the nearly 100 million Egyptians would face difficulties in providing the necessities of life.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Edited)
