RIYADH: Egypt’s Suez Canal recorded revenues of $1.97 billion from 5,874 ship transits since the beginning of July, marking a 17.5 percent year-on-year increase, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said during a meeting with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund. 

This comes in line with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s statement last October that shipping traffic through the Suez Canal — one of the world’s most important maritime arteries — would return to normal within three months following the peace agreement and ceasefire in Gaza.  

It also aligns with Rabie’s comments in an interview with Asharq Bloomberg at the end of last month, in which he predicted that total revenues for the current year would exceed $4 billion, slightly higher than 2024 figures, with a gradual increase expected beginning next fiscal year.  

Suez Canal revenues to reach $10 bn  

Rabie further forecast that the canal’s revenues would improve during the 2026/2027 fiscal year to around $8 billion, rising to approximately $10 billion the following year, according to a statement issued by the Suez Canal Authority. 

The canal generated a total of $40 billion between 2019 and 2024 and remains the country’s most important source of foreign currency.  

The IMF recently projected that Suez Canal revenues would begin to recover during the current fiscal year, with a gradual increase expected to reach $11.9 billion by fiscal year 2029/2030 as tensions in the Red Sea subside. 

Rabie noted in a previous interview with Asharq Bloomberg that vessel traffic has shown steady improvement following the agreement to end the war in Gaza, adding that shipping companies are eager to resume transiting the canal.  

French shipping company CMA CGM recently conducted a trial transit of two large cargo vessels through the Suez Canal from Bab-el-Mandeb — a move Rabie said is likely to encourage other major shipping lines to return to the route.