Egypt’s steel factories face shutdowns

Some of the steel manufacturers in Egypt were forced to shut down their factories and trim or stop production due to the lack of foreign currency needed to import raw materials, Asharq Business reported, citing several steel manufacturers on June 13th.

El Garhy Steel has stopped production since the beginning of the current year due to the lack of the required materials, the firm’s Vice Chairman Ashraf El Garhy said.

Public steel companies also suffered from the current economic situation, as an official in the Egyptian Steel Group noted that one of the company’s factories ceased production during February, March, and two weeks after Eid Al-Fitr vacation.

On the other hand, iron and steel companies that export part of production abroad have been through better conditions, as they were only forced to trim production after securing some materials via export revenues.

One of these companies is Elmarakby Steel which operates with a production capacity ranging between 30% and 40%, the firm’s Chairman Hassan Elmarakby said.