Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Egyptian Purchases of U.S. Wheat May Decline 23%

Egyptian wheat purchases from the U.S. may fall 23 percent next year even as total imports may increase, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report today.

Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat buyer, may purchase 500,000 tons from the U.S. in the year that starts on July 1, down from 650,000 tons in the prior year, the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service said in a report. Exporters shipped about 1.68 million metric tons from the U.S., the largest exporter, to Egypt in the year that started July 1, 2008, the USDA said.

The North African country will buy 9.2 million tons of wheat from all sources in the year that ends on June 30, 2010, the USDA said. That’s up from 9 million tons a year earlier, according to agency data.

Egyptian workers escalate protests over low salary rates

Egypt has been witnessing for more than five years fierce and unprecedented debate on the salary rates.

A debate which has been escalated recently by workers, especially after the Egyptian Higher Administrative Court ruled on March 31 that the government should set new minimum salary rate.

Workers flocked to the cabinet headquarters in downtown Cairo, calling on the government to set a minimum monthly salary rate of 1,200 Egyptian pounds (about 215 U.S. dollars) instead of the 35 pounds stipulated by the government in 1984.

According to Egypt's Ministry of Investment, the country's growth rate is projected at 5 percent in the current 2009-2010 fiscal year, which will end in June.

Egypt: No Amendment to the Constitution

Egypt's minister of legal and parliamentary affairs and a leading member of the ruling party, has ruled out the possibility of amendments being introduced to the Egyptian constitution.

Dr Shihab said that an amendment to the constitution is not in the cards at the current time. Also that the party is focusing on the parliamentary elections that are set to take place later this year, rather than on the presidential elections that are scheduled for next year.

In his reply to questions by Asharq Al-Awsat about the criticism that the ruling party monopolizes power, Dr Shihab, who occupies the post of assistant secretary general of parliamentary affairs in the National Democratic Party [NDP], said that the NDP does not want to monopolize power in Egypt through a large [parliamentary] majority, and that the opposition parties ought to work and be active in order to win more representation in parliament and in the local councils.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Egyptian Inflation Eases

Egyptian inflation eased for the third straight month in April, making it less likely that the central bank will soon raise interest rates.

Urban inflation, the main rate monitored by the central bank, slowed to 11.4 percent from 12.2 percent in March. Prices rose 0.9 percent in the month.

The central bank kept its benchmark interest rates unchanged on May 6 for the fifth straight meeting, citing “subdued” inflationary pressures. It cut rates six times in 2009 to help the economy through the global financial crisis, which reduced investment and damped revenue from tourism and fees from the Suez Canal. The bank meets again on June 17.

Egypt, urges Sudan unity

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit pressed for the unity of Sudan on Sunday, ahead of a referendum on independence which could call into question current Nile Basin water-sharing agreements.

Abul Gheit and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman are also due in the south Sudan capital Juba later on Sunday where they will meet Salva Kiir, the head of the semi-autonomous region. If the southern Sudanese vote for independence in next January's referendum, this could have an impact on the disputed sharing of Nile waters.

Some of these, which include Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, say past treaties are unfair and they want an equitable water-sharing agreement that would allow for more irrigation and power projects.

Last month, Egypt rejected any new plans for Nile water allocation, stressing that its share in the river was a "historic right" with Sudan considered a strong ally.

Egypt: Women's Rights

Over the past decade, women in Egypt have made great strides in addressing discriminatory laws. The country's personal status legislation, which had been a source of gender discrimination since its inception in the 1920s, has undergone reform, especially with respect to its procedural elements.

The years 2004–09 featured continued progress in the removal of gender inequality from the Egyptian legal system. One of the main demands of women's rights groups was finally met in 2004. The government submitted proposed changes to the nationality law that would enable Egyptian women married to foreign men to pass on their nationality to their children.

New laws are passed to help women in Egypt almost every month. The law changes are very minor. The challenge in the years to come will be to adopt the institutional and policy framework necessary to make the amended child law and other such reforms enforceable.

Egypt: Freedom on the Net

Egypt first introduced access to the internet in October 1993 through the Egyptian Universities Network and the Egyptian cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC).

The public first gained access in 1996, but the technology did not really take off until 2002, when the government introduced a "Free Internet" program. Offline repression of online activists is sporadic and keyed to sensitive political events.

While the Egyptian government has aggressively and successfully sought to expand access to the internet as an engine of economic growth. Its security services and allied individuals have increasingly attempted to curtail the use of new technologies for disseminating and receiving sensitive political information.

Egypt Economy Growth in the First Quarter

Egypt’s economic growth accelerated to 5.8 percent in the first three months of 2010, the fastest pace in almost two years.

Manufacturing, tourism and revenue helped with the growth the most. Figures show Egypt's general rebound in the economy.

Manufacturing expanded about 6 percent in the quarter. Construction grew 14.7 percent, while transport, storage and Suez Canal revenues grew 10.5 percent and communications and information technology 11.3 percent.

Egypt is hoping that each quarter is as successful as the first quarter has been so far.

First the wheat, then the cotton and now the GAS!! What next!!!

The Ministry of Petroleum has reached a major deal on petroleum exploration and drilling with British Petroleum (BP), in a move that some are calling the biggest foreign contract of the past three decades.

This agreement gives BP full rights to production in the North Alexandria field until investment costs are covered.

This agreement will put Egypt on the list of gas-importing countries for the first time since gas exploration and production began.

The agreement grants the General Petroleum Authority first purchasing rights at a price agreed to by both parties and pegged to international oil market prices.