São Paulo – Egypt’s publishing industry is estimated at about EGP 3 billion (USD 189 million) and has started to recover, in the wake of Egypt’s improving economy. According to information Saeed Abdu, head of the Egyptian Publishers Association (EPA), gave to Al Ahram newspaper’s website the publishing industry in Egypt has faced considerable challenges. Abdu is also chairman of Egyptian publishing house Dar Al-Maref.
According to data from EPA, Egypt has approximately 1,500 publishers and 500 publishing houses and more than 90% of books produced in Egypt are provided by the private sector, which constitutes the major part of the publishing industry in Egypt. The Cairo International Book Fair is an important platform for the Egyptian publishing industry, Al Ahram reports. The 2020 edition started on January 22 and runs until next Tuesday (4).
Since the flotation of the Egyptian pound in late 2016, the publishing industry in Egypt suffered significantly, given that printers are an import-based industry, according to Printing Chamber at the Egyptian Federation of Industries (FDI). In 2017, around 60 publishers left the market, due to production cost hikes, climbing prices of publications and declining purchasing power. After the stabilization of domestic economy and the better performance of the Egyptian pound against the dollar, the industry has started to recover as well.
One challenge was the absence of a database monitoring the investments, sales volume, or even basic data, such as the number of authorized publishers in the market, publishing houses, and their share in the Egyptian book market. EPA has made significant efforts to gather this data, to be in line with countries around the world, Abdu noted.
The industry has started to recover since late 2018, while Egypt’s macroeconomic indices have started to perform better. Tensions and wars in neighbor countries, such as Libya, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, excluded them from Egypt’s target markets, while Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia replaced them. The countries that have experienced conflict used to receive as much as 60% of Egyptian book exports, according to Al Ahram.
A poll conducted by Ahram Online in Cairo International Book Fair found that the price a book in standard size ranges between EGP 50-60 (USD 3.10-3.70), while larger sizes range between EGP 80-120 (USD 5-7.50). Given existing challenges in traditional print, some are turning to digital publishing. Electronic publishing in the Arab world, though, accounts for only 2%, according to CEO and founder of Kotobna, an Egyptian digital on-demand publishing platform, Mohamed Gamal.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
