2023-09-10 09:26:24
Inflation reached 39.7% in Egypt in August, according to official figures released on Sunday, the highest historical level in this country which is going through the worst economic crisis in its history.
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The national statistics institute reports in particular an annual increase of 71.9% in food prices, 15.2% for transport and 23.6% for clothing.
Egypt has seen rising inflation and a devaluation of almost 50% in recent months.
The country of 105 million inhabitants, the world’s largest importer of wheat, is bearing the brunt of the war between Ukraine and Russia, its two main suppliers.
Between President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi’s megaprojects, subsidies on numerous products and monetary policy to support the Egyptian pound, its debt has also exploded.
Egypt is now one of the five countries in the world most exposed to the risk of defaulting on its external debt, according to the Moody’s agency.
Last year, the International Monetary Fund approved a $3 billion loan for Egypt, whose external debt has more than tripled in a decade, reaching a record $165.4 billion this year, according to figures from the Ministry of Planning.
After having counted for years on bailouts from Gulf countries in the form of deposits at the Central Bank, Cairo is now struggling to sell assets or open projects on its soil to Gulf investors who now say they want “returns on investment”.
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