Egypt earmarks EGP 80 bln for industry support in 2026/27 budget – FinMin

Egypt has allocated 80 billion Egyptian pounds to support production, manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and exports in its 2026/27 draft budget, Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk told the parliament on Wednesday.

Presenting the budget statement to the House of Representatives, Kouchouk said the plan aims to meet basic needs, improve public services, and support economic activity while maintaining fiscal discipline.

The allocation includes 48 billion pounds for export rebate programmes, 6.7 billion pounds for tourism support, and 6 billion pounds in financing facilities for productive sectors.

healthcare spending will also rise, with 90.5 billion pounds allocated to the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement, Medical Supply, and Technology Management (UPA) to secure medicines and medical supplies, up 34.6 per cent year-on-year.

The budget also sets aside 7.8 billion pounds for school textbooks and 7 billion pounds for school meal programmes.

Wages for state employees are projected at 821 billion pounds, while subsidies and social protection spending are set at 832.3 billion pounds, including 178.3 billion pounds for food subsidies and 55.3 billion pounds for cash transfer programmes such as Takaful and Karama.

Energy subsidies are budgeted at 120 billion pounds, alongside 13 billion pounds for social housing and 4.3 billion pounds for upgrading informal settlements.

Kouchouk said total revenues are expected to reach 4 trillion pounds, up 30 per cent, while expenditures are projected at 5.1 trillion pounds, up 13.2 per cent.

He said fiscal policy would focus on social protection, stability, and economic growth, while increasing reserves and reallocating spending in response to risks.

The minister said 69.1 billion pounds has been allocated to purchase local wheat from farmers after raising the procurement price to 2,500 pounds per ardeb.

Egypt is targeting a primary surplus of 5 per cent of GDP and aims to reduce the overall deficit to 4.9 per cent and lower debt to 78 per cent of GDP by June 2027. It also plans to cut external debt by $1–2 billion annually.

Over the medium term, financing needs are expected to fall to about 10 per cent of GDP, while debt servicing costs are projected to decline to around 35 per cent of total spending.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English