This is the first article in the series ‘Egyconomy’ by Egyptian Streets, where Marina Makary explores current trends and debunks popular misconceptions surrounding the Egyptian economy. Since March 2021, Egypt has been struggling with a shortage of hard currency. With multiple devaluations, in March 2022, October 2022, and January 2023, the country has been forced to impose restrictions on imports and banks have repeatedly implemented regulations to spending abroad. Today, the Egyptian pound currently stands at 30.2 against the US dollar. While the value of the Egyptian pound continues to plummet, the exchange rate of the US dollar continues to rise — especially in the ‘black market’. According to Investopedia, the world’s leading source of financial content, the black market is economic activity that takes place outside government-supervised channels to avoid taxes and price controls. A term that emerged after World War I, the black market describes trade that happens in secret, unrecorded. Whether money, weapons, drugs, or even essential commodities, the black market consists of any products or services that are difficult to attain through conventional channels. The question is: how is this negatively affecting Egypt’s economy? Most people…
Explainer: What is the Black Market and How Does it Affect Egypt’s Economy?
February 5, 2023
