Egypt’s gross domestic production (GDP) grew by 5% in the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal year (FY) 2019/2020, according to Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, on Saturday.
El-Said attributed the latest GDP figures to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Earlier, the minister revealed that two scenarios have been put in place that project what may happen as a result of the virus pandemic.
The first estimates that there will be a 3.5% GDP growth for FY 2020/2021 and 4.2% for FY 2019/20 which ends this June, down from the initially projected 5.8%, due to the impact of the coronavirus. In the second scenario, the coronavirus continues to spread as the deep and prolonged economic disruption continues well beyond June. This could cause a further 30% reduction in the country’s targets, El-Said explained.
The drop in economic growth comes on the back of the global pandemic, which has led to a slowdown in several sectors affected by the pandemic. These include severe repercussions on the tourism, industry, wholesale and retail sectors, El-Said explained.
In a statement, she revealed that the manufacturing sector was the highest contributor to GDP during this period, recording 12.2% of total GDP, while the wholesale and retail sector recorded 11.7%.
Overall, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, real estate activities, as well as construction and agriculture, represent about 50% of Egypt’s GDP, El-Said said. She added that the tourism sector’s contribution declined to 2.7%, compared to 3% in the same period last year.
Oil refining activities grew by 78% in Q3 of FY 2019/2020, and the telecommunications sector grew by 15%, El-Said indicated.
