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	Egypt		Info-Prod Country Guide
CHARACTERISTICS   INDICATORS   THE ECONOMY   INVESTMENT ISSUES   PROJECTS   PROSPECTS

Principal Economic Sectors Industry The most important products of Egyptian industry include cotton yarn, jute yarn and fabrics, wool yarn, refined sugar, sulfuric acid nitrogenous fertilizers, paper, cement, motor-vehicle tires and television receivers. Other industrial activities include the manufacture of iron and steel the assembling of motor vehicles and the refining of oil (at several locations). Smaller-scale industrial enterprises of significance to the economy include tanning, brewing, and the manufacture of pottery, perfumes, handicrafts, cottonseed oil, flour and other processed foodstuffs, and asphalt. Most industrial activity is centered around Cairo and Alexandria. Agriculture Agriculture, which accounts for 20 percent of GDP and 36 percent of total employment, is the area in which the Government has pushed economic reform the farthest. As a result, production has increased steadily in recent years. Impressive growth has been achieved both in terms of increases in cultivated areas and in production levels. According to official figures, the value of agricultural production increased by 74 percent over the five year period 1988-1994, from US$ 7 billion in 1988 to US$ 12.2 billion in 1994 and value added in agriculture reached US$ 9.6 billion in 1994. Cultivation is concentrated in the Nile and Delta regions, and less than 3 percent of total land area is cultivated. The yields of Egyptian farmlands are now among the highest in the world. Egypt is the world's most important producer of long-staple cotton. Other leading crops include rice, tomatoes and wheat. Also produced are sugarcane, watermelons, millet, barley, onions, vegetables, citrus fruits, mangoes, dates, figs and grapes. Tourism The Egyptian tourism industry is one of the most important sectors in the economy, in terms of high employment and incoming foreign currency. Egypt offers tremendous attractions in terms of cultural heritage and of natural beauty, but since 1992, intermittent terrorist actions have damaged this sector. Tourism receipts tumbled following fundamentalist attacks which killed twelve western tourists, but government efforts to crack down on terrorism have countered this trend. Tourism officially became the country's second largest foreign currency earner in 1996, when revenues reached US$ 3 billion, an increase of US$ 710 million over 1995 figures. The increase was due in large part to development along the Red Sea coast. For 1997, hotel occupancy is expected to increase by 12 percent over 1996, to twenty-nine million tourist nights for the year. Egypt's goal is draw six million tourists annually by the year 2000. Meanwhile, accommodation capacity will expand to 75,000 hotel rooms, facilitated by the addition of 7,300 rooms during 1997-98. Related construction by German, French and Italian investors will create about 17,500 new jobs. Foreign marketing campaigns are expected to draw a large number of foreign tourists. Energy Egypt produces approximately 800,000 to 900,000 barrels of oil a day (approximately forty-five million tons per year). Natural gas accounts for approximately 28 percent of total energy consumption in the country. In the next three years, production of natural gas and its derivatives is expected to increase by 5.2 percent annually. During 1997, Egypt hopes to have sufficient LNG production for export. Egypt's electrical capacity has grown substantially over the last decade, reaching 11,910 MW. Hydroelectric power represents about 8.3 percent of the total annual energy production in the country. Trade Egypt offers an import market exceeding US$ 10 billion annually. The United States is the largest foreign supplier, capturing approximately 30 percent annually of Egypt's imports, hovering around US$ 3 billion for several years. The principal imports of Egypt are agricultural products, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, chemicals, mining and quarrying machinery and metal products. The country has become more and more dependent on imports and food grants, especially for wheat, flour and meat, because of rapid population growth. The major exports of Egypt are crude petroleum, raw cotton, cotton yarn, fabrics and rice. The chief customers for these and other exports are Italy, the US, Germany, France, the former USSR, Japan and Great Britain. Previous Chapter Contents Menu Next Chapter

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