The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced a record profit of $7 billion for the fiscal year 2021-2022. The profit comes after the SCA raised transit fees multiple times for ships passing through the vital passage for world trade.
Around 1.32 billion tonnes of cargo transited via the canal between July 2021 and June 2022. This provided $7 billion rent in transit fees, the highest in Suez Canal’s history, said Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), on Monday.
He added in a statement that this is an increase of 20.7% compared to the previous financial year.
“The international crises have demonstrated the importance of the Suez Canal for the stability of global supply chains,” Rabie said.
According to Africa News, Egypt, caught between inflation of over 15% and a recent devaluation of the pound by nearly 20%, had increased transit fees, particularly for oil and gas ships, by 6% in February and then by 5 to 10% in March.
The Suez Canal handles about 10% of the world’s maritime trade and is one of Cairo’s main sources of foreign currency.
Despite a rise in oil prices and the war in Ukraine, the Suez Canal recorded its “highest” monthly turnover in April, raising an eye-watering $742million.
As Cairo discusses a new loan of nearly $574 million with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country’s forex reserves have fallen from $42.46 billion in March to $40 billion in May.
It must be remembered that in 2021, ‘Ever Given’ — one of the largest container ships ever built — got stuck in the Suez Canal for six days in the month of March. This froze nearly $10 billion in trade a day.
