Traffic in the Suez Canal traffic in January was the lowest in five years because of the global financial crisis. Ships are also taking other routes to avoid piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
The Canal Authority official said on Sunday the number of ships passing through the canal in January was 1313 compared to 1690 in January 2007, down 22%.
Revenues in the same month were down 19.5%.
The volume of trade passing through the canal also fell from 74 million tonnes in January 2008 to 57 million tonnes in January 2009.
Toll revenue from ships passing through the canal last year was more than $US5 billion.
The canal is the third-largest source of revenue for Egypt after tourism and remittances from expatriate workers.
