Egypt expected to lose $4bln in 2008/09: trade body

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt may lose $4 billion in lost production and trade in the fiscal year ending in June as a result of the global financial crisis, the Cairo Chamber of Commerce said in a report cited by state news agency MENA on Friday.

The trade body said the manufacturing sector was particularly hard hit and predicted a 7 percent decline in exports to 151 billion pounds from 162.3 billion pounds.

It added that Suez canal revenues, closely tied to global trade flows, likely also declined by 7 percent to 26.5 billion pounds from 28.5 billion pounds.

The report cited by MENA said exports had declined as global demand slipped, which in turn had pressured jobs and wages and weakening domestic purchasing power.

It said tourism revenues, one of Egypt's main foreign currency earners, would fall 15.6 percent to around 50 billion pounds from 59 billion pounds in the last fiscal year.

It added that remittances sent by Egyptians working abroad likely dipped $600 million, without giving a comparative figure.

Annual inflation has dipped in the most populous Arab country since peaking at 25.6 percent in August 2008, allowing the central bank to slash interest rates to stimulate growth.

The Egyptian economy grew at an annualised rate of 4.3 percent in the first three months of 2009, down from around 7 percent in early 2008.