Source ::: REUTERS

CAIRO: Egypt expects to spend 323.9bn Egyptian pounds ($57.6bn) and receive 225bn pounds in revenue in the fiscal year starting July 1, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.

The budget figures equate to a shortfall of 98.9bn pounds, equivalent to a deficit of 8.4 percent of expected GDP, in line with previous government forecasts.

The deficit was expected to be 6.9 percent in 2008/09, the government said in March.

The statement also said nominal gross domestic product — which is not adjusted for inflation — would grow 13 percent to 1,181bn pounds. Egypt’s real GDP growth has fallen from highs of around seven percent in 2007 and 2008 to 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Inflation in the most populous Arab country has also fallen in recent months but remains high, at an annualised 9.8 percent across the country in May.

The budget statement did not include estimates for actual spending in the 2008/09 fiscal year.

For the first nine months of fiscal 2008/09, revenue was 189.6 billion pounds and spending was 243.6 billion pounds, according to Finance Ministry figures on the central bank website.

The Egyptian government spends heavily on a subsidy programme which provides cheap petrol and bread to Egyptians, representing 18.5 percent of the 2009/10 budget spending.

Its total budget for subsidies in 2009/10 is 59.8bn pounds, including 33.7bn pounds for petroleum products and 13.8bn for food subsidies.