Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized o. w. wane Economic Department Geograpl\v", Population, National Income • . . Political Organi~ation •••••• . . 2
A.,~r1culture a.nd Food Supply • • . . . . 3 Industry • ...... s Transport ...... 7 ...... 8
Ba~ng Structure ...... 9
st~te Budget and Public Debt • . . . . 10 Honey and Prices • • • • • . 12 (Foreign J!."xchange Pod t1on 13 1' . . • . f Foreign !rade • • • . . . . 17 Balance of P~menta ...... 19 ~»
The Dollar Problem . • 20 Conclusions • • • • • . • . 22
Bi 'bliograpey • • • • . • • • • • . • • • • • 'i!OC£112St· PffR»laUon. National Incmu
Egypt, ~ing at the northeastern corner of Afr1oa, baa a total area of
)86,110 @quare m11ea (or 1,000,000 square kilometers). Of this area, over 9S per cent ia barren desert, and the rest is accounted for bw the Mile Vall~ and the Delta. which contain on}J 1),200 square miles.
During the last fU'ty ;rears, the population of Egypt has nearly doubled.
At the census of 194?, the total population was 19.0 m1111on, as corapared to
9.6 million in 189?, when the flrat census wa~ taken. As a result of the rapid growth of ita population, Egypt is now one of the most denselJ populated countries in the world. The 193? census showed a population density of 1,198 persons per square mile (463 per kilometer). It mu.st be added that according to t,~;tian ceneua practice, figure! on population density relate only to the
Delta and the Nile Valley, exclusive of the outlJing desert areas. Over 99 per o~mt of the 193? population, numbering 1.$.9 million, lived 1n the Delta and the ~>file Valley. '!'he Mohammedans, representing over 91 per cent of the population in 1937, predominate in all areas of Egypt. !be estimated future growth of ~gypt 1 e population ranges between 20.8 and 24.0 million by 1970.
This estimate represents an increase b.y 10-25 per cent over 1947 population.
1~ official estimate of the national income of Egypt is available. A recent estiJnate, based on asAumed per capita income of U.S. $92, gives the national income of U.S. $1,7)? million for 1946. ~~other estimate for 1940 yields the total income as $1,5?9 million, or $95.6 per capita. The e~timate of tota.l income for 1946, though compr.>.ring favorably v1 th that for l Pol~Ugg,l Otcsha.tio,a Since 1517 Egypt vas a part of the Turkish ~mpire. After 1882. the British Ar~ occupied Egypt. Between 1914 and 1922 Egypt was the British Protectorate. Since 1922, Egypt has been an independent state. The form of llgptian Government is a consti tutiona.l monarchy. The throne is hereditar,y in the fami~ of Mohamed Ali. The Oon~titution was fir~t established in 1923~ but later vas abrogated in 19?3 and reintroduced in 1935. The Constitution in~titutes a two-chamber parliament -- The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The members of the parliament are elected by a nniver0al male suffrage, except two-fifths of the members of the Senate are nominated b,y the King. Soldier~ have no vote in the parliament e1eot1on. The cabinet h nominated by the E.lng, but responsible to the parliament. Egypt was a member of the Leat.-!Ue of :!'lations. It nov belongs to the United Nations. Since its Independence in 1922, Egypt haR several que~tions at issue under dispute with the Briti!h. Chief among these were the British Arm,y of Occupation and the Sudan. Under the An.glo-Y:gyptia.n Treaty of 1936, the Eri tish Mtli tary Occupation of Egypt was terminated, but the mili tar;r forces were transferred to the Suez Canal Zone until l~gypt is sufficiently powertul to undertake the defense of the Canal, and the question of sovereignty of the SUdan was left in suspense -- the Sudan remains jolntl.T ruled by the British and the Egyptians. The Egyptians are not satisfied with the ~ettle rnent of the Sudan. Their position is that, for the unity of Egypt. the Sudan must be put under the mgyptian Crown. In recent years, negotiat1ons between _,_ the two countries have been resumed. The questions at iRsue are the evacua tion of the British foroes and the increase in the Egyptian share of the joint administration of the Sudan. So far, no agreemen' has• as yet been reached. Aa a member of the Arab Leag11e, Egypt 18 against the partitietn of Palestine. Since the termination of the Bri thh f·fandate in Palestine on !~ 15, 1948, an Egyptian Expeditionary force has been dispatched and h now fighting against Israel in the Negeb desert of the Southern Pale~tina. The United !lations have intervened in thG> :Pal~stine issue and are trying to UP.e its office as a mediator to restore peace in this area. So far, the war in Palestine is etlll going on and no immediate settlement is in ~ight. Agrig;g.ltwe pd lorul §»;p:el:z Egypt is a predominantly agricultural countr;y. In 1937, 71 per cent of the gainful~ emplo7ed population were directly engaged in ~~ieulture, and the proportion of the total population directly dependent on agriculture vas 6) per cent. In 1944 the total cultivated area of Egypt waa 5.? million feddans!f which represented only less than 2.5 per cent of the total area of the eountr,r. The increase in cultivated 8Tea during the last thirt7 yeara was insignificant. However. the crop area rose considerably-- from 7.7 million feddane tn 1912 to 9.:3 million feddans during 194J-44. Thh increase 1a ohiefl7 due to the favorable climate and a developed sy~tem of irrigation, and, thus, it is possible to grow over a wide area two or even three crops a year on the same plot of land. l/ One :feddan equals 1.038 acres. - 4- Only lees than one-half percent of the land is state-owned, leaving the re~t in private ownership. The distribu,ion of private land-ownership is extremely unee'{Ual. In l94LL. 70 per cent of landowners owned one feddan or less, and their combined holdings represented only 13 per cent of the land. On the other hand. 0.5 per cent of the landowners held farms over 50 feddane, and their total holdings amounted to j6 per cent of the total land. llideum proprietors with farms from S to 10 feddans owned 30 per cent of t~~ land, and those with 1 to 5 feddans 20 per cent. In recent years, the number of amall holdings up to l feddan was 7 per cent higher than that in 1939. The most important crop of Egypt h cotton. Normally, Egypt produces 6o per cent of the world's output of long staple cotton (over 1-3/8 inches) and 25-40 per cent of the medium staple (1-1/8 to 1-3/8 inches). Exports of cotton and its by-products normally a.coount for about 75-85 per cent of the value of Egypt' e total export trade. Prior to tb8 war the total cotton- growing area. averaged 1.8 million feddans, representing 20 per cent of the crop a.rea. During the reeent war. the area undeJ> cotton was drastically reduced, in order to increase the production of food«tuffa. In 1942 and 194), it was less than half the prewar average, amounting to only 700.000 feddans. In 1947 the area increased to l.J million feddana. and the official estimated production of cotton was 6.J million kantare,ll as compared with the annual average of 9.J million kantare during 1937-1939. Following cotton in importance are clover (or berseem), maize. and wheat. Together, these four crops oeoup,y three-fourths of all Egypt's crop l!•.illt! area. The remaining area is accounted for 'b7 rice, barley • ~ .!fer.....,._, l/ One ka.nta.r equals to 99.05 pounds. - s- beans. and augar cane. fJ.'he total acreage under cereals (Le. wheat. mahe, barl-.y. rice and ...._ III@haa) represents over half the total crop area. The main foodstuffs !or the population are wheat. mai1e and millet. Before the war, Egypt was self-sufficient in foodstuffs with hardly ~ sur~ plus for exportation. At present, with the increase o! 20 per cent tn the population dnce 19)'7 and a serious fall in the import of fertilhers, the production of cereals is insufficient tor local consumption. In 1947, there was a deficit of 1.? million ton~ of wheat and maize. Allocations of Je.i 1 -fir,.; · i i- -; ( .-lr ,~,'/ · &1!4 AlltJ'~l.\lU'e O..gazai aat.iOA to Egypt for that year were 2'70 • 000 tons of wheat and 290.000 of maize; the rest of the deficit had to be imported from other countries. ~art of rice production was exported in exchange for wheat and ma.ise. The indust17 of Egypt owee 1ts development to two world ware. Owing to the cessation of foreign imports during the first war, ~ industries were expanded or created to meet local demand. The recent war has greatl7 encouraged the local ind:a.stey. because of the ahortap of imports,!the consequent rise •l in pri~s, and:' increased demande a.rhtng trom the presence ot A.lli ed. Jorcea in the country. However, there are several factors which limit the develo-p- ment of the Egyptian 1ndustey. ( l) The low purchasing power of the macs of the population. ( 2) The prospect of an export market tor the EQ"Ptian indu.~t-ey ia not favorable, as Egfpt's industr.y 1s not 1n a position to compete with that of foreign -- partieularl7 European -- industrial countries. l/ Here and elsewhere in this paper, tonnage refers to the metrto ~atem. -6- (3) The lack cf' cheap power, such as :f'ueb, coal. and electric power. However, there is a huge h7dro- electric power project under progress and, when completed, it will ease to some extent the power problem. The main industries of' Egypt are thoRe of proaeaalng local raw mate- rials: cotton ginning and pre•s1ng, cotton eeed cruBhing. cotton spinning and weaving, and trUgaf' manufacture. Following these are cement, petroleW!l, soap and other industries. .Among these industries, petroleum and cotton spinning and weaTing ha.Te shown great expansion in recent years. 'During the last decade. the petroleum output increased sixfold, and cotton textile 70 per cent. In 1946 output of all Egyptian cotton mills was 220 million metres of cloth as compared with 1.50 million metres in 1939. The 1946 output of cotton textile represented'two-thirds of the country's consumption of cotton piece goods for that year. In 194?, crude petroleum production was 9.3 million barrels,l/ as com- pared with 1.6 million barrels in 19)8. At pregent. refinery production ot petroleum in Egypt is insufficient for local con~umption. In 1947, contumption of principal petroleum products amounted to 2.4 million tone, while refinery output was only 1.6 million tons in that year. leaving a deficit of 0.8 million tona. In other industries • .uch as sugar. cement and soapp local output meets entireq or near]¥ all the country's requirements. A huge ~ro-electric power project at Aswan Dam ts under progress. It is to be completed 1n 19.52. When completed, the total installed paver lJ One metric ton of Egyptian crude oll equals ? barrell of 42 gallons.;;,·· ) of the generating station will be 487,000 R.P. (horsepower). and the total amount of ene~gy available f~om the power station will be around 1,645 mil lion KWH (kilowatt-hour) annually. Thh power project will greatly assist the development of local - particularly the steel and fertilizers - industries. TriJ!I'R!! r. f47Pt's internal communications rely chiefly on ratlw~s. At present, Egypt has a quite complete railwq network. During the year 1944-45, the total length of the Egyptian ra11wqa was 5,452 kilomttters, of which 4,065 kilometers ( 75 per cent) were state-owned, and the rest was in private owner ship. ln 1944-45, the state railwqs had 16,3:?1 freight ears, 1,018 J)assen ger cars and a total of ?46 locomotives, and carried 7.5 million tons of merehandi~e and 6o million pas~engers with 2,261 million paasenger kilo meters. In the same year, the total receipt& of state ra1lwqs were •E 14.7 million and total expenditures were ~ 7.2 million. River trangport is conducted by sailing boah and small steamcratt. Road transport h poor. A la.rge part of the networks of roads and waterwqs runs parallel to rail w~s, resulting in overlapping in transport faeilitie9. The external communications of :mgypt depend mainly on shipping; a.s the Nile Valley and the Delta are surrounded on three sides b,y desert. As of June )0, 19)9, the ~gyptian Merchant Marine had a total of 109,825 gross tons. In 1940, exclusive of war traffic, ),896 steamers entered ~gyptian ports with a total of 11 million tons. Aside from shipping for external transport, the :'i:grptian ra.ihrqe are connected with those of Pales tina and since the recent war, eir transport has developed very ra~1dly. In 1946, there were 5,057 vessels in transit through the Suez Canal, with a total net tonnage of ):.3 million tone. Dues paid to F.grpt 1n dollars - 8- b,y ships in transit from hard currency countries are estimated at $8 million for 1948. In 1937. the Egyptian labor force totalled 6.1 million, of which &grioul ture represented 7l per cent, mining, manufaotu:rtnc. and building industries, 10 percent, and service industries (transport, commerce, finance, public, social and personal services) 19 per cent. The une of more than two- thi rd.s of 1 ta labor force 1n agriculture shows the highq agricultural char- acter of the Bgyptian econo~. This occupational distribution clearq 1nd1- cates the deeirabilit7 of developing mining, manufaeturtng and building .t. industries which together account for too ema.ll;,,Percentage of the total la'bor force. The wages are much too low by western standards. In 1938. the average daily wage for industrial workers was 88 mjrJl (or U.S. $0.44 at 'the then exchange rate) for men, and 43 m/m for women; wages paid to children were onl¥ 24-29 m/m a dq. :By January 1946, the average induetrial wage for a worki~~ week exceeding SO hours was •E 1.2) (approximately U.S. $5.20}, or about 205 m/m a d~. Theee wa.gea are. however. relatively high, a.a compared. to at~icultura.l wages. Most of o.,grieultu.:ral workers work less than 180 dqe a. year, and receive monq wages estimated at i.E 21 (approximately u.s. $87) a year. During recent years. ~ agricultural workers have entered industry because of the attractive wages and the increasing demand for industrial workers. lJ m/m refers to m1lliema. One Egyptian pound eoual~ 1,000 milliemes. - 9- Egypt bas no central bank in its full sense. 'i'he lfa.Uonal :Bank of Egypt fulfills only par' of the normal tunot1one of a central bank. At present, it is vested with the power to issue currency notes, carries the bulk of ?JQJJt1an GoTernment deposits and l!lterling )alancee, and acts as the Government agent for loan flotations and dividend pa7ments. But it does not perform. the main functions of a central bank. tmeh ae those of bankers' bank, lender of last resort and controller ot the volume of credit through manipu- b.tions of rediscount rates and open market operations. After the de-parture ot Egypt from the gterling area, the need for a central bank in Egypt became acute. The GoTernment 1 s intention is to institute a central bank which would be given the full power to carry out its central banking operations. At pre~ent, the Government appears to favor the nationali~ation of the Issue Department of the National Bank of Eg,ypt for this purpose. Recently, a dgnifica.nt change bas been made in the Egyptian monetary 8 system. In July 1947, a new law went into effect authorising the Mlnbtry ot Finance to i!lsue Egyptian Trea.slU'J' bills up to the l!lllount of itE SO mil- lion as 50 per cent cover, ln lieu of gold, for ~ additional note issue made by the National Bank of Egn?t. Up to September 1916, half of the note l~sue in 3grpt had to be covered bT gold and the other halt by securities, mainly .British. By 1916, thh requirement of gold cover of the note issue was guspended and British Treasur,r billa were used instead of gold. because obtaining gold supply to cover the increasing issue of currency notes was d_tfficult during the first World ·w·a:r. This mea.eure, whleh vas then to be a temporary one, neverthelege lasted until July 1948. In other Yords, between September 1916 a.~ Ju!T 1948, ~gyptian note is~ue was a.lmoAt entirely covered b,y British Treasury bills and securities. The new measure to u~e Egyptian - 11 - budget. a reserve fund is established to meet poedble budget deficit. At present, the fund amounte to *E ?0 million ae a result of wartime accumula- Uon of' budget surplus. The deficit 1n 1948 budget h to be coYered by drawing IJll 12 million from the rese!'Ye fund and by borrowing ia..'lll :30 m:Ulion to coYer additional military expenditures. During the war there was no inflt!tionary preuu.re from the bud.get, but the present budget h highl.T inflationary • .Before the war, the growth of expenditures was due to the extension of educ~:t.tion and sanitation, the expansion of the adm1nhtrat1on, the armed forces, and the public works developments, while during the war 1t was attr1- bu.ta'ble to the consequent rhe in prices, the introduction of the cost of living bonus, and, since l94o-4l, the inclusion of the railw.r budget. The postwar increase of expenditures is because of the expanded appropriations for defense, education, and public works. The principal expenditures for 1948-49 are *'1& SC million for defense. *'E 18 million for transport. -..~ 16 million for education, and *E 13 million for public worka. d,,t:. Prior to 1939. receipt& depended chiefly on customs and land tax. Since then income tax has been introduced, and later during the war, a.n excess pro:f'i t tax was abo impot~ed. In 1948-49 l:n.ld!:.et, cuetomR iiutiea alone a.eeount for 50 per cent. The sterling debt of ~gypt was contracted in the late 19th century. The bulk of the debt was invested in 8tate railw~e. irrigation works, and ports. Just before September 1943. the out~tanding sterling debt totalled ia92 million. In September 1943, the ';,~uan Gove!"nment announced a plan providing for repavment and conversion of all the sterling debt. As a result, the debt w~s either repaid or converted into internal loan which amounted to 86 million Egyptian pounds. The object of thia conversion pl<~ was to absorb local capital which had accumulated in the country. It Ma7 be -12- said that the sterling debt nov no longer constitutes a problem. As of Ju~ Jl, 1946, the total outstanding internal debt stood at ~ 114.; million. Of thie sum, a three•year loan at 1-3/4 per cent of 'E 3 million was redeemed on December 15. 1946. Among theae loans, the important onee a!"e: (l) a ;o-year (1943-19?3) loan at )t per cent of ilt"E .58.) million, ot which the authorized amount of issue was *E 67 million: (2) a cotton loan of *B )0 million at 2i per cent floated in 1946 and maturing January 1, 1953. to finance cotton purchase; {J) Treasury bills ot ~ 11 million. During the second World War, an inflationary trend was produced in Egypt. However, as mentioned above, there vas no inflationary presaure from the budget. The inflation was due to the shortage of imports and to tbe in- crease in note issue aE a result of huge m111tar,r expenditures of Allied Forees stationed in ~gypt. Between the end of 1939 and the end of 19Li5, th& total amount of note isgue increased from *E ?6 million to •m 141 million. and volume of demand deposits from ~~ jS million to •E 268 million. During the !'-a.me period. baaed on 19:37 price leTel. the wholesale price index" rose from 100 to 323, and the cost of 11Ying index from 102 to 299. Since 1946, ~or~ anti-in:f'la.tionaey factor! have been developing -- such at the 1nerea9e in imports and the decline in Allied e:rn,enditures in FJgypt. As a result, the note issue fell to ~E 137 million at the end of 1946 and to *E 127 million in July 1947' 1 while the demtUld deposits declined only slightly. In July 1947, the wholesale price index fell to 293 and cost of living index to 28?.. ~ the end of 1947 the note issue rose again to ~E 138 million owing to the 1va.sonal financing of new cotton crop\. HwevP-r, nt present it appeart " tha.t the money suppl,y has ceased.~. In April 1948 the note issue stood at 135, while the volume of demand deposita is eetimated to be no higher than that of peak level in l94S • .:But the effect of the decline in money supply on pr-1cee has been very slight. Since lul7 194? prices rose again. In April 1948, wholesale price index stood at JJ? which was even higher than in 1945. The cost of living index also rose to 288 in April 1948. These price increases are attributable to several reasons: (l) !otal money supply is still large because of insufficient 1mporta; (2) Incomes derived from exports of cotton are at a high level as a result of high world cotton prices; (J) There was an adverse effect on agricultural production, owing to the shortage ot fertili~era and unfavorable climate in 194?. It is difficult to a~eertain the preci~• relationship between wases and prices owing to the lack of data on wages. In general, available data indicate the~\ wages did not incr•,ase at the aame rate a1 prices, as the average daily industrial wage in Janua.r;y 1946 was about 205 m/m, compa.red with 88 m/m in 1938. The official selling rate for Egyptian pound is U.S. $4.127 ~er Et~tian pound. This rate was established on July 14, 1947, upon the depa.r- tu.re of ;~gypt from the sterling area. The black market rate for dollar• (currency notes and drafts) waa reportedly $3.00 per Egyptian pound in the 11//. / / . ..l! earl;y part of 194?. Heweve!' '/\the black market in ~~,~~~.~p, exoha.nge h :rather limited in Egypt. At present the degree of over-valuation of Egyptian pound has been reduced as a result of the moderate fall of prices in Egypt and the gradual price increases in the u.s. As measured qy consumers• prices (l9J7 = 100), the oTer-valuation of the Bgyptian pound relative to the u.s. dollar declined from 66 per eent in July 1946 to 41 in Jul.T 1948. The decline - 14- in the oYer-valuation shove a greater extent. if meaaured ~ wholesale price index. The over.. Taluation of the Egyptian pound at the present time has no adTerse etfeot on Egyptian exports, as demand tor F.gypt1s cotton, which accounts for the bulk of her export trade, has been inereadng because of inGuffici~nt world output. n·,,: L"'" Since 19)9 there '-no free exchange market in Egypt. With the exeep- tion of gterlin~. transaetiong in foreign currencies ha~e been forbidden, except on current acco1~t. mxport of gold from the country ha$ been pro- hibitAe_ dnee 1916. 'Foreign excharue:e for import req_uiremente is subje Before July 15, 1947. Egypt vas part of the sterling area. hom the standpoint ot Egypt's foreign exchange position, this statue had two impor- tant aspects. FirAtly, the bulk of Egypt's foreign exchange tranwact1ona was conducted in sterling. Secondly, F..gypt 1 s earnings of hard currencies were converted into sterling, and her needs of these currencies were met through London. From 1939 to the end of' 1944, &gypt's requirement$ in herd curreneie8 were determined throU8h agreements between the Governments of il::g;n)t and the United Z:ingd.om, and later through the Middle E.rurt SU:frply Center (t-!l':SO).lf .Between January 1, 1945 and July 15. 1947, :Egypt's hard eu.rren~' requirements were financed by- direct a.lloeaUons from London at the rate of approximatel;v $40 million per annum. As .a result of large Allied expenditures during the var. Ji:gypt' s ster- ling balance accumulated very rapidly. As a re~ult, ~gypt has become a sterling creditor countr,y. At the time of Egypt's departure from ~terliag l/ The MESO was an Anglo-American Organisation who8e principal function was to approve permits for imports into the Middle Eastern Countries from Allied-controlled aoureea of auwl.T during the var. - 1S - area on July 14. 194?. her sterling assets, official and priTate, totalled some ;, 4!HJ m1llion. of which it 356 million were held by' banktl in Egypt. However. Bgrpt baa no dgn1ficant gold or dollar reserTes. Egypt has a gold reserve of $53 million as part of note ooTer, but as of June JO, 1947 had only a ~mall working balance in dollars, amounting 'o $23 million, of which $3 million were official holdings and $20 million were priTate holdings. At the end of June 194?, the Anglc-Eg:pt1an J'inaneial Agreement was reached covering the period of the second half of 194?. It provided for the free convertibility of !lQpt1 s evrently earned sterling, the release of part of '1lgypt 1 a sterling balance, the blocking of the remainder held by banks. and the departure of Egypt f't'om the sterling area. Under thh financial agreement, the amount of released sterling release~ totalled some * 60 million. of vhioh * 8 million was released unconditionally. ~ 12 million as a working bal~~ce. and the rest for payments by Egypt for wartime arrears of eoupons. or for aur:plus stocks of the British Arrar in Sgypt, etc. These sterling releases were credited to the so-called NO. 1 accounts and were transferable for par- mente for current transactions. However. the n IJ!IIBille t 1 f sterling connr- don into dollars vas sutrpended on August 21, 194?. Since then, 2grpt' s ~terling balance in No. 1 accounts has been on~ traneferable ~ithin sterling area and sterling transferable account area.ll Aside from tbe~e sterling releases, the rest of sterling balance held qy banks in Egypt were blocked in the so-called NO. 2 account!. lJ As of April 1948, eterll~ transferable a.eeount area includes the follow in& countries; O~echoslova.kis., Netherlands, Jinland, Iran, N'orwq, Siam, Spain, Brazil, Sweden, Poland and U.S.S.R. - 16- On January 5, 1948, J-1grpt and the U.K. concluded anothel' agreement covering 1948. !his agre... nt provide~ an additional releaae of ' 11 mil- lion as a working balance, bringing the total working balance to •23 million, and the release of ' 21 mllllon for current traneaotions. ror herd ourrenc7 p~enta, this agreement and later negotiation! between Egypt and the U.K. provided the following relea$eS covering 1948. (1) * 6.25 million released by the U.K. as oonv~rtible into dollars ($25 million) !or covering hard currency expen- ditures. (2) L 1 million in gold for p~ent~ of the increaeed sub- ser1pt1on to the International Bank and of the increased quota in the International Monetary Fund. (J) Sterling releases for pa,ments for speo1al imports of oil and oil equipment ~~d Chilean nitrate$. ~hese tmporte, now all from the dollar area,ll are estimated at $35 mil- lion for 1948. (4) Ll million relea~ed in September 1948 as convertible into Belgian france for the purohaee in the Belgo-Luxem'bourg Union of goods essential to Egptian econorq.Z/ As of March Jl. 1948. sterling balance held qy banks in Egypt totalled '355 million, of which • 275 million were on No. 2 accounts and •ao million on No. 1 aceounts. Of the balance of * 80 million on No. 1 aeeounts. LE 2) million represented the working balance. I.E 21 '"ere the 1948 relfla<:~e, and the reat was uauaed former sterling releases and ~terling receipts from exports. (Jf~ll-f, Q JrftlHifiiiiA111t/41 4J'~~ ..,••f bel-wee .. E/YPf ...~ f4e 1././<'. /'s .W pr1c•$'s "' "ti:J. .. f:• .,...... lJ Chile is now considered to be in the American dollar area. 'iJ .Belgium. hae stopped accepting ~terling pqments from Egypt dnoe November 1947. - 17 - The ftlue of ~t'e exports increased from M aTerage of' P 35.2 million during 19)5-19)9 to '-E 90.8 million in 1947. and that of import.a from an a.Terage of idil J4.S million to i.E 10). 9 l'lillion during the same period t~der ruiew. Thb inereaae in Talue was chiefly due to rise of prices, repreaenUng no expansion of volume of trade. In 1947, cotton export; which represents 75 per cent of Egypt's total exporte, amounted to ?.S million kantars against 7.9 million kan tars in 19:;8. Although no data on the total import volume 1s available. the present volume h estimated to be no higher than the prewar leTel. because of considerable increase in export prices in supplying countries. In the mid·l9)0 1 s, Egypt's balance of trade was generally faTorable. Since 1937, it has not been favorable, except for 19)9. During the latter part of the recent war. the trade de:ticits ran into large amounts, ranging between ~ lJ and •E 36 million. In 194?. the trade deficit amounted to ~ lJ.l million, which was lover by l.E 1.2 million(over 1946. According to currency areas. ~t' a trade for 194? uhowa a deficit of ~ 9.2 million with hard currency area against a deficit of ~ 5.4 million only in 1946, and a deficit of ~ 2.4 million with the sterling area against a deficit of~ ?.4 million in 1946. The deficit with hard currency ares. increased coneiderabl¥ in 194? becau.ae the imports increased while the exports remained. unchanged owing to the U. s. cotton quota!/ which limited the exports of cotton to that country and to the shortage of other commoditiee exportable to the area. !/ At present the u. s. annual import quota on long-staple cotton amounts to 4.5 million pounds (or 91,000 bales), of which Egypt's aha~e represents 95 per cent. - 18 - The principal exports are cotton and its by-producta which, together normally represent 75 ... 85 per cent of the total exports. Other agricultural products, rrt10h as onions, rice, etc., make up moat of the remainder. ~e prin- cipal imports are fertilizers, timber, coal, petroleum products, cotton piece goods, and wool fabrics. :Before the war, the u.x. was Jt.gypt' s pr!D.oipal eustomer. Following 1n importance were Germ&n7, France, Italy and Japan. fogether these five countries accounted for two-thirds of Egypt's total exports. Thas, in 19)?. the u. K. represented 31 per cent of the total Egyptian exports, France 11 per cent, Germany 8 per cent, Italy and Japan each 6 per cent. In postwar years, the pattern of geographical distribution was changed. During 1947, India developed remar·ka.bly as the chief customer for Egypt. repre11enting 16 per cent of total exports, while the U. K. took only 14 per cent. In the same year, )"'ranee and Italy inoreaaed their shares to 12 and 14 per cent, respectively. while the t..,<.ll't( shar~S of Germany was negligible. There w.a.e. no trade relations with Japan during 1946-47. Egypt's exports to the U. s. rose from 2 per cent of the total 1n l9J8 to 6 per cent ln 1947. At present the Egyptian exports to the u. s. cannot be substantially increased becauae of the U. S. import quota on Egyptian cotton. In 1946 and 1947, the value of exports to the U. S. was LE 5.6 million and LE 5.8 million respectively. 1~e u. K. has been the leading supplier tor Egypt. In 1937, 22 per cent of Egypt 1 e imports came from the U. x.t ll per cent from GeJ'man7, 9 per cent from Italy, and 6 per cent fro~ the u. S. In postwar years, the U. K. remained F.Q-pt 1 s principal supplier. :But, between 1946 and 1947, imports from the U. K. declined from ~ 2.5 million to ~ 23 million and her share fell from JO per oa1 t to 22 ver cent. Despite Egypt's difficult position of hard currency the - 19- U. S. became an important ~pplier 1n postwar years. Between 1937 and 1947 imports from the U. s. increased from~ 2.J million to ~E 11.7 million and its share from 6 per cent to 11 per cent of the total imports. Italy and JTance were the other important suppliers. fheir shues showed both an absolute and a relative increase. There were no imports from Germany, Japan and Rumania during 1946-1947. Since Y~reh 18, 1948, because of larger amounts of sterling releases made aTailable to Egypt at the bagtnntng of the year, all restrictions were removed on imports from the eterl1ng &rea and ~e sterling transferable account area. Thie action was intended to permit the imports of less essential goods. At prseant the ~ort-l1cens1ng system is applicable only to hard currency area which includes the U. s .. Canada, Belgium, Portugal and Switzerland. For axporta a permit is required with the exception of cotton ~d a few articles such a a cigarettes, nu, and salt. Payment in sterling ie not accepted unless the country concerned also accepta sterli~~ in paJment for :Egrpt's imports from that oount.ry. ~alance of Pal!enta ~,~- In the light of theae above-mentioned financial B«J"eemente concluded between Egypt and the u. K. ,p app~a tb.et in ppatwar yearJI th~~OO)}"f'ertible _1,~ o/~ po.;,l!{ ~ 1/-K. and inconvertible sterling releaseeC~trava1IableTto EgyPt/have beenA&deq~te r-:7~ to keep her balance of J')a1ments in equilibrium. HoweTer, it should oe added that this equilibrium 1s attained at the cost of severe reduct.ion or imports which Egypt needs. According to an estimate of the total balance of payJDents in 1946 pre pared by the International Monetary lund on the basis of Egyptian official -20- data, the net deficit on the current account was j,E 8.6 million {the trade deficit was ~E 10.9 m1111on11). Thie def1o1t vas met by a net payment ef *i 9.2 ~out of the ca.pitals:count, leaYing a ta:rpllll of lOX 0.6 million beoauae · Af errer of caleu:laUaa. 'l'he trade detlci t from hfu'd gurr,1ncy area. was estima~~d- / ~~ p._, ~: ~~ ~ N at l.E S.4 million. Under ~~ of direct ;:i_locat~~t had no difficulty to meet the bard currency deficit. EstlmateJo~alanae on invisible accoun~tor 1947 ~not available. ~~ Atrade deficit for 1947 amounted to ~ lJ million, of which LE 9 million vas estimated to be from bard currency area; ~ 2.4 million from sterling area; and l.!il 1.6 m11H.on from other currency areas. 'lhe deficit of soft currencr area for 1947 was lm.sily met out of sterling releases. The hard currency def1- cit could be financed byt 1) $6 million released by the U. I. for the second half of 1947; 2) the pre-July hard currency nllocation amounting to ~~ 1 million a month which totalled some ~ 6 million for the firet half of 1947; and J) some invisible herd currency receipts amount1nr, to itE 1-2 million. Thue, for 194?. tt appears that convertible sterling relenaes and invisible hard currena.y receipts 1were just about adequate to cover Egypt's hnrd. currency trade deficit.; Egypt's dollar problem has its origin in the in~bility of her normal auppUers to supply the gooda she neede. !hia hae made 1 t neceesa:ry for EgJpt to alter her normal trade pat\ern and to turn to the U. S. for supplying her a good part of imports (imports from the U. s. increased from ~ 2.) million or 6 per cent of the total in 1937 to *E 11.? million or 11 per cent). On the other hand. Egypt's exports to dollar area cannot be increased to any maJor extent because of the U. s. import quota on .FQ'pUan cotton and becauee of the shortage of other commodities exportable to that area. ~s. 1t gtvee rise ! The trade def it of ~l 10.9 million or 1946 is lower ~ the figure of i.E l4.J millio~~~~~1oned above becaus of exclusion of tMde. with the ""·'...... and other trade ~~•· "-,, I, - 21 - to the so-called •dollar ahortage.n Moreover, Egypt's dollar balance is very small. Ae of June 30. 1947, just before her departure from sterling area, mgypt•s dollar holdings, official and private, amounted to $2' million. Of lhia sum. about $21 million were ear- marked for confirmed credits in the U. S., leaving only $2 million freely avail- able to Egypt. i~ollowing the Anglo-EQ:pt:ian Agreement of July 15. 1947, the suspension of sterling convertibility was 819.de by the U. K. on August 21, 194?. :Between July 15 and August 20, 1947, Egypt did not build up her dollar ba.la.nce by converting into dollars the sterling releases when they were convertible. As a result, Egypt was in a difficult yosition with regard to dollar exche.nge. Under these circumstances, $6 million were allocated to Egypt ~B a tide-over from the U. X, for the second half ot 1947. The inadequacies of the dollar resources to meet immediate requirement• resulted in an almost complete sus- pension of foreign exchange transactions other than sterling. This !i~~tton remained throughout the second half of 1947. The dtuation of dollar supply in 1948 h more :taYorable than the :pre vious year. Firstly. $25 million were releatJed to i'gpt under the Financial Agreement of January 5. 1948. Secondly, Egypt succeeded in negotiating with the U. K. and the Suez Oan."ll Company to collect SUez Cnnal dues in dollars after July 1947.!/ The dues received by Egypt in 1948 will amount to $12 million, of which $8 million are duee for 1948 and $4 million are dues for the second half of 1947 which vere withheld during negotiations and now become due to Egypt. Thirdly, other invisible dollar receipts including tourist and di~lo- matie expenditures are estimated ~7t $5-6 million. Fourthly. estimated value of cotton exports for 1948 ~ounts to $23 million. Thus, the total dollar cupp~ for 1948 will amount to around $65 million. Thie is in addition to the !/ Up to July 1947, shipe from the u.s. and other hard currenc1 countries ualng the Su.ez Canal paid lu!.rd currencies to the :Ba.nk of England from whioh t.he7 obtained sterling to pay Canal dues. - 22 - from dollar area, the value of which is estimf.lted at ~,J1 million. (; The dollar s~ly for 1948, though more sub9tant1al than~ preTious years. is,\ina.dequ.ate for :F!gypt 1 s requirements. ll1gypt's imports from the dollar area consbt mostly of grain, coal, menu:factures and machinery, It 1s difficult to reduce these 1mporh to a.ny nmjor extent. However, at present an attempt 1s being made to barter ll!gfpt 1 e: cotton in er.clw.nge for essential r,oo(ls like grain from countries sueh as Russia, thU2 ~av1ng F~Jt's dollar holdings. !n the meantime, the F...gyptian Government is undertaking e. cnref'ul allocation o:f' her dollar resources. The emphasis of imports from the dolle.r lll.rea is placed, first, on coal and other necessary consumption goodu which cannot be supplied outside that are~, e~. secondly, on durable capital goods. Cone lug ion! Durlng t.he war • Egypt' e sterling balance a.eC\"Uf.IUlated T&l'y rapidly becauae of l~rge Allied. eJCpend.i tu.res in th• coun1r!7. As a re.W. t. ~pt has become a sterling creditor country. Dut, b~ypt's gold and dbllar reaerTee are small. In postwar years ~t•s problem of dollar shortage had its origin in the increasing imports from the dollar area owing to the inaM.lU;y of her oil sterling area. uuppliere to supply 1,the goods she needs. On the other hand, Egrptian eXports to the dollar area cannot be increased to a~ major extent because of the U. s. import quota on Egyptian cotton and because of the short- age of other commodities exportable to that area. '!his dollar problem 1e now affectillg Egypt' e import trade :program. and development projects. No imr.n,dia.te relief on this problem is in sight. unless the U. K. ngrees to make larger conTertible sterling releases or unless the U. s. r~ises the import quota. on Egyptian cotton. - 23 .. The li'.Q:ptlan econ0181' is baaed on cotton. The country's prosperity depends to a large exient on the world cotton prices. At present the price of cotton is at a high l«rel and the world output of cotton is below the prewar average; tbua there ha.a been nn increasing demand for l!lgypUan cotton. However, thta favorable cond1 tion as regards :Eg,ypt.1an cotton d.oee not relieve Egypt's moat critical problem - the dollar shortage, as ~t 1 s export of cotton to the U. s. 18 limited b;r quota a.nd thedema.nd of other countries in the dollar area for Egyptian cotton is insignificant. Althoillth F..g;rpUan industry has made great prcgreas during the last thirty ;rears, its developmenta are, however, limited by several factors, such as the low purchasing power of the mass of population. the unfavorable prospect of an export market, and the lack of cheap power. Although the money eupply end price index are still at a high level. the inflation appears to be arrested. This h chietl7 due to the decl1ne in Allied expenditures in Egypt and the increase in imports ae a result o:f' improTed supply situation abroad. In postwar years the convertible and 1neonTert1ble sterling releases ~~de available to Egypt have been adequate to keep her balance of payments 1n equilibrium. HoweYer, it should be added that thh equU1br1um is attained at the cost of severe reduction of imports which Egypt needs. Tabl.e 1 Growth of census Eoe!l !tion 1897'- ' - 1947 Year Po:£ea.t1on !/ Increase duri~ - ( uaiilS) deCide .. !' ]i;97 9,635 - 19)7 11,150 16.1 1917 12,718 13.? 1927 14,178 ll.5 1937 15,921 12.3 1947 19,040 19.6 y Excluding nomads. Sources: Egypt, Stati.atical. Depa.rtment, Cairo, Anml.a.i.re statistique de Poche, 1946. ' 'l'&ble 2 ~cultural Production ~~I~? ·- (Thousand metric tone} l9ll:39 -191.0 ~ --1942 ~ 1944 ~ -1946 -194? Cot. ton 383!1 413 m 190 161 209 2.35 y ~ Cotton soeds ?OIJ} ?57 688 34? 300 m 437 }/ if Wheat 1,273 1,361 1,124 1,262 1,292 946 1,182 1,16.3 1,045 Maize 1,582 1,529 1,282 1,416 1~371 1,559 1,.69'7 1,422 1,402 Sorghum. 470 454 4b9 964 m 764 m 525 578 Rico 669 667 5?2 940 685 Sl5 866 938 1,261 Bs:rley 234 241 209 277 314 22? 262 l?S 170 Beans 2% 311 285 277 284 322 300 :m 261 Onions 252 220 247 104 ll6 1.16 159 149 202 sucar Cane 2,210 2,518 2,369 2,504 2,190 2,602 2,64C 2,5:30 }} Y 1938-1939 average. ?:/Cotton output: 6.1 and 6.2 million Ka.ntars f'or 1946 and 1947, respectively. (One Kanta.r eqtu>.ls 98.05 pounds) • }./ Not ava:ll.able. SoUl"Ces: 19.3?-1945: A.nnuairc statist19ue de Poche, 1946 1946-1947: u.s .. .,~, Cairo, Jif2rt oneener,al Conditions, of >'~ m 1947, A JS, MI(A .. Table ,3 Industrial Production or Eg:ypt'. 1938 - 1945 ('I'housar..d or metric tons) 19;! -1939 -1940 -1941. -1942 -1943 --1944 1945 Cotton 'l'ext.ile 21.'7 25.5 25..1 29.1 32.9 34.9 .34.8 .'37.1 Cement 375 353 365 392 422 42.3 419 444 P.efi.ned Sugar 20<-) 2:35 238 196 164 159 157 l4S Cotton Seed Oil 65 53 61 73 102 9? 00 74 seed Cake 261. 213 245 293 lJJ9 .3~ 320 29? Deer 6 8 14 25 .31 .34 39 38 Alcohol 4.9 4.6 5.0 5.4 6.1 8.9 8.5 9.0 Table 4 Mineral Product-ion o£ ~1'2~ ' . 19j?-~Z'7 (metric tons) Calcium Manganese Crude !f -Year Phosp¥te Ore Chraaite ,;a.J.tram Petroleum 1937 517,002 1S6;320 y 179 1,180 19.38 458,404 15.3,1.12 y 1,373 1,5?6 1939 547.538 U9•882 -2/ 2,021 4,146 1940 183,464 64,L12 31 l4 5,727 1941 lll,708 2,175 y 4D 7,1.;37 1942 .328,41/J e,.l.69 312 3,346 7,199 1943 315,566 7~079 910 3,059 7~910 1944 318.185 30 3.1 3.1 9,418 1945 349)374 47 -2/ 3/ 9 .. 369 1946 -2/ y y y 8,951 194'7 y y y 3_1 9,283 1/ In thousand barrels. One metric t.on of Egyptian Crude petroleum equal..s 7 - barrels .of. 42 ga.Uons. · " y IJo data ava.ilable. J.D. ~ and R. Dunean, Ho~ .on tm ~ ReSO'I.U'Ces of tne mddle East, .fi!1arcn,§45. Annua1re...... , . Stati~tiquo, 1946 • Clement L&vy, The Stock &x:ehanse Yearbook of E~, 19~ u.s. ~J, Cairo, Ref!!:!: on sm: 1n 1947, April 30, 1948 1'abla 5 Value of ?'oreie;n l'r~ • 1937 - 1947 (i!illions of Egyptian Pounds) -Year ~s !ix.PQrts!l.. ~ 193'7 .3£3.0 39.) +1..3 1938 .37.0 30.1 - 6.9 1939 34.1 34.S + 0.? 1940 .31.4 28.3 - ).1 1943. .3J.1 22.6 -10.5 1942 .5 19.3 -:36.2 1943 ;39.2 26.6 -l2.6 1944 51.0 :;o.o -21.0 1945 60.5 4S.2 -15.3 1946 83.2 69.0 -14.2 1947 103.9 90.8 ...lJ.l ' &:r~:raes: 1939-.4.5: Ann~ Stat;ist~a de !oche, 1946 19.371 1946""'71 lDu.rOpa Publications Ltd., l.1le Neer East1 1948 Table 6 Textile nv:terials & textiles 8.8 14.6 ?O.l l'iaahine:r;r. "'~ r;-.r C'? t ton ?9.0 43.6 69.) Riee l.J 5.9 6.1 Onions .o" .6 1 • .5 Pho~ph~te~ o:f' lime .s .? .8 S~:1 t BJ .1 .6 !L Cot tC'Inaeed oil )} ' .9,., . Pinerc.l oil~ • ·f !:1 .ll- OthArs 5.lJ. 12.8 -?.9 -JB.4s/ 6). 7!l! e7.os/ Ineluded in other importa. Incl·~ed in other exports. :::::xcluding reexport~. SQurggi: hpnijaire §tQt1st1aY&. l9J8. ;-t.ational Bank of .Bg:rpt, };eonomle ltuJlet&n, J1.pril 191~8. Table Z 1937 1947 1917 19!1-6 ~ 1947 United Kint~dom 8.4 22 25.0 jO ?j.O 22 11.9 11 n.;~, 17 12.7 1.5 .British Empire ?.) 6 10.7 13 lj.O 13 2.3 6 15.bW ?5 21. 4J2/ 25 Belgium ')L.• ~,./ 6 2.:>. j 5.7 6 .R 2 1.2 2 1.7 2 Chile ~.1 J 4.5 4 Czecho!':'llovakia 1.0 2 LL.1 5 France 1.9 ; ).2 4 6.6 6 l~.:? 11 5.3 8 10.7 12 Japan 1.5 4 2.3 6 0.6 1 Gertna.n3 1.;., :-) 11 1.1 8 l.? 2 Iran j.O 4 2.6 3 Iraq 4.6 ; J.j J Ital,y 6.0 7 9.2 9 2.3 6 9 .. 9 16 1::?.0 14 .Palestine .9 1 .5 l 1.5 ?. 1.1 1 Swiherland 2.0 J 2.1 2 Syria Lebanon 1.2 2 1.3 1 Tu:rk:ey 4.7 6 3.5 J U.S.A. 2.J 6 9.1 ll 11.7 11 ?.( 1 ;.6 9 5.8 7 Otl\er 11.7 31 11.7 lJ ?.O.j 19 9.0 ?j 9.3 16 12.6 13 Tote.l ------)8.0 100 83.2 100 103.9 100 J8.4s/ 100--6-,-.7-9.!..,.._1-~-o--8-,7-.~-os/~-1o_o_ !I Inelud1ng ~8 million for India. ]./ Inelud.ing l!El?.t~ million for In41a.. sJ '!-:~eluding reexPorts. SoureE!s: Annl!atr~ st ..'t~:~ti11ue. 19JA. The 'British Ch£7,m~t gg: Commerce Qf lt,~t J'o\trnal, Cairo. ~.:p:ril 191.1-8, Table 8 The Budgejt of Jm~ (Millions of Egyptian Pounds) SUrplus (,i) or General ieVtnue Ex-oem~ture DeQoit ,_l Re.urvL 1938/39 37.6 40.4 - 2.8 'il 39/40 39.4 41.2 - l.S 25 40/41 43.7 42.6 ;! 1.1 29 41142 56.; 46.1 ,!10.2 .3.3 42/43 67.1 56.6 }10.5 39 43/44 77.8 71.9 .;. 5.9 II 44/45 87.7 82.1 ;! 5.6 48 45/46 103.5 95.3 ;! 8.2 57 46/47 lv" 9'1.4 103.5 - 6.1 47/48 ~ 94.2 103.3 - 9.1 ~ 48/49 il 141.5 183.4 -41.9 70 ~ Not avaUable. R/ Estimates. The 1947/48 bud.get covers 10 months only. Q/ Revised estimate. Soffi"C!!: l.nnuakt Statietigue S}e Pooh!, 1946. ottioial Journ!J. of Egxptian Qgverp!!J!!t, Cairo, July 10, 1948. La Revut d 'llsmt EooD91igue et .. rinanoien, Cairo, July .31, 1948. (!11llion1'1 of :~gyntinn Pounds) ''fhole!'l:ale Price co~t o£ Ind. ex .i.iving Jnde:s; 19'3? = 100 1939 26 35 100 10?. 1940 37 49 124 115 1941 51 ?4 1942 ?5 10) 1943 96 175 26? 1944 117 ?28 1945 141 268 J2J 1946 1:37 269 31? 1947 138 262 JJ 301 285 l')Li.S (June) lJl.i- n.a. 337 ]/ iiJ November 1947. l/ A:r)ril 1948. gj Hay 1948. Sourge: International Monetary lund, Internationil Fin§Aeial ~tati~tic~, Se;~)tember 1948. Credit Debit Net Credit (f) ~Rtlsdnhl 'll\Ylll@l'lt§l 9t rmbU ( -) Current TtaQ§~qttqn§ 1. 1'1erahandhe 68.1 79.0 -10.9 2. }ion-monetary gold rooYem~nt (net) ).0 - ).0 J. 7oraign travel 4.8 - t~.B 4 • Trl-ulgportat ion 15.6 ).'3 fl-:?..) 5. Inve ,, t.ment Income 2.9 Q.l 6.-? 6. Government (not included - elsewhere) 6.8 ?.3 f ],j-.5 7. His:ce lla.neou1J 0.5 - o.s 8. 'l'otal cttrr.ent trnnss.ctiong ( 1 through ?) 102.0 - 8.6 - 0.6 l~ovement gf Cf..pital & ~iontt<,&l"Y Gol,d 9. rrtntt.J excluding banking in1~ t1 tut1ons) Lon.{l'-'!'erm capital - 0.8 f o.a lO. Oft:!daJ. & J3a.nkSJ1B ln!;tit'lj\OP.Ij Long-Term capital f 7.? f ?.? Short-'r'erlll ca.pi tal -17.2 f 0.8 -18.0 ll. ::ont~ta.ry Gold f 0.3 f O.J 12. Total ~vement of capital ,,~ rnone tney gold - 9. 2 - 9.l 1. The figures of merchandise tran8actions d1ff~r from that in ~able 5, owing to the excludon of export~ to and imports from the SUdan. 6. eeei'pts repre~ent net milih.ey expenditures of Allied J'orce<1. Payments include only bud~tary expenditure. Commercial tr~.,action~ of the Government were ~hown under Item 1. 7. Film royaltieg, ete. 9. c~.,nital remittance! r,ueh a.SJ p~meub in reRpt'H!t of drawn bonds and othar such p~ent~. 10. Official long-term Ck!~pital movemenh •,•ere the increase in lonp,-term holdings of the National .Bank of T'!m:t, and subscription~ to U4F' and :r:·rm. iJnder official l'!hort-term capito.l movements, the aMet entr-<.r corresponds to the movement in the Bank1 a holdings of sterling and the l1e.b111 ty entry to the pe.rt of the E~tian $1UbMript1ons to Ih!F snd. IBRD which were -paid 1n local currency. ll. :L'he figures represent the ehan;-,e in the r:lOnAt''l.ry gold holdin~~s of the L;·Htion.al :3a.nk of :r;gvpt. - 22 - Bi .BLI OGRAPHT The following are the principal sources used in the preparation of this report: Issawi, Charles. Ecrut: AQ Economic and Sogi~l Ani6t~i~, London, 1947. Europa PublicHtion Ltd. 731• Neg Eamt. :&;948, London, 1948 . .Bonne, A. ~he F..conomte "Q!velopmen\ o' the Middle Ea.s~. London, 1945. American Embassy, Cairo. R!port qn General Con41tiqns tn Eezpt in 194Z, April JO, 1948. International Monetar.y Fund document. Suryey of the Ecqnomz of Egzp\, I'iovem'ber h, 1947; Th! J'iAA.Qgia.Jr Position ot kYP$, March 19, 1948. ~ncyclopedia BritanniA. In addition to current information obtained from newspapers, periodicals, official relea~es, and reports of monitored broadcasts, the following courses were consulted for the individual chapters of this report: C':reograpl;y. Pipulfttion, Nu.t!oAAJ. Insome J\her. C:lyde V'. 'I'll! Demogrt.p,Qic Posj.Uon of :k}grot. Demogra"Phic Studies of Selected ~!.reas of Rapid Growth, N.Y., 1944. Political Organ!:&tion Awad, Mohamed. l!gtpt. Gtcit Britai; smd thft Su(\an. 4s Emtig,p. V&ew' The IUddle East Journal, Washington, D. C., July 1947. MtiQ'QJ.. tyzt <&ng the J;ooQ. Sygpl,z: Hazen, N. :,; • W@rrtime As;gects of Emti& Af:risna.ltural 1iJ2onom.y. The U.S. Department of Commerce. A£r1QUJ:twe. June 1941. Warriner, D. Land ang Poverty in the Middle Ea~t. London and N.Y., 1948. Industtz Shatwell, H. G. The Ohemie!l Industries of .tmt. The British Chamber of Commerce of ~t Journal, Alexandria, January 1948. Ahmed, lvlbel .1\.z iz .Bey. AswAA Da,m Ry;dro-Eles;tric Project and Other £iydro Electrig Develo;gment§ in Egypt. The BritiAh Chamber of Commerce of ~'!grpt Journal, Alexandria, A;pril 1948. The 2!velopment of the Textile and Allied Indu~tries in F~t. The Briti~h Chamber of Commerce of .l!igypt Journal, June 1948. l·foneta.ry Oirc;g±§tion Craig, J.I. Ob!Age in Egzptian Ourrencz §Ystem, The Egyptian Gazette, Cairo, ~\ugllAt 19, 1948. F~reiga Exch§Agft Po11t!2B Mikesell, Raymond F. §terling AreA Currencieg o( the Middle East, 'l'he fliddle iast Journal, Washington, D.O., April 1948. :B~arlAAoe of rwme;h In tarnational Monetar.y ll'und.. Em!' 1 :Ba1a,net ot: P8.Y!Q!Ulh Prosnegt; 1; ~be Light of U}t k-lglq-Emt\a.n l'!nino1Al Mttement, January 1948, Febfua.r.y 5, 1948.