Egypt Achieving Self-Sufficiency

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 55, 27 November 1937, Page 18

Egypt Achieving Self-Sufficiency

CAIRO.— Now almost entirely selfsufficient in matters of food, and soon to be so in regard to clothes, Egypt is gaining rapidly in economic strength. This fact is revealed in a survey of present Egyptian conditions made for the Overseas Trade Department, London, by the Commercial Counsellor to the British Embassy here. Factors in Egyptian economic stability outlined in the report include the increased industrialization of the country, the " excellent financial conditions," the recovery of foreign trade and the.upward trend of cotton prices, the growing national thrift, and the improving condition of agriculture. The last two years have seen the ever increasing importance of the Ministry of Commerce and Indnstry, founded in December^ 1934, on account, the survey says, of widening industrial activities, increased need for labour laws, and expanding tourism. Measures tackled by the Ministry " recently include reorganization of chambers of commerce, of working conditions and of trade unions. The growing sense of thrift among small savers is held to be shown by statistics for the Post Offic Savings Banks, where the number of current accounts. xose from 200,000 in 1930 to 350,000 in 1936, and the balance to the credit of depositors increased during the same period by nearly four times.