Egypt loses over $9 billion in revenue from the Suez Canal annually due to the situation with shipping in the Red Sea. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty cited these figures during a speech in New Delhi.
“We have suffered the most from the escalation in the Red Sea: Egypt loses over $9 billion a year and faces net losses“, the Egyptian foreign minister stressed. He added that 20-25 ships a day pass through the Suez Canal in both directions, compared to over 75 ships a day before the escalation. Abdel Atty noted that Cairo “is engaging with a number of partners, including Russia, the EU, India, China and the United States, to resolve the current situation“.
Egypt's revenues from the operation of the Suez Canal before the new round of escalation in the Middle East reached $10 billion. Cash receipts from the canal are one of the main sources of income for the Egyptian budget and an important source of foreign currency. However, since the fall of 2023, Egypt has been losing revenue from using the canal, as many ships are still forced to change their routes for fear of shelling by units of the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah (Houthi), attacking merchant shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in solidarity with the Palestinian movement Hamas.