The Egyptian government reveals the cause of the price hike in the country… and urgent parliamentary action

First Assistant Egyptian Minister of Supply Ibrahim Ashmawi said that meat prices have witnessed a significant increase due to the feed and the buyer.

He added, during his meeting with the “On My Responsibility” program, on “Sada Al-Balad” channel, on Wednesday evening, that the prices of meat vary with butchers, and range from 280 to 290 pounds, pointing out that the prices of meat in the supermarket have reached approximately 400 pounds.

He continued, “Some people ask for a specific piece of filto, and its price has reached 500 pounds. Is this important today? The one who makes the merchant raise the price is the customer. As long as there is a request, he will raise the price” – according to him.

He pointed out that the government’s role is to preserve the largest segment of consumers, by intervening in a timely and economical manner, explaining that commodities will be traded on the stock exchange that will have an impact on reducing feed prices in a controlled manner, such as what happened in the stability of corn and soy prices in the markets.

He pointed out that the supplies of imported meat from Sudan are still continuing because the southern part is far from the current crisis, stressing that there is a diversity of meat import sources such as Somalia and Chad.

Ashmawy also stressed that the reason for the increase in the prices of ration sugar and rice is the high cost of producing these commodities, which forced the government to make price agreements or price corrections, stressing that this price increase came to ensure continuity and availability in the outlets, otherwise these commodities will be threatened with shortage or disappearance from the market. Markets, pointing out that the country has a safe reserve of strategic commodities, diverse supply chains and many origins.

He added that there is an attempt to stabilize commodity prices with some investment banks with the so-called hedging policy, which is used in strategic commodities.

He stated that the hedging policy is a mechanism used by states or the private sector in commodities that witness high price fluctuations such as fuel, oils, wheat, corn and fodder, stressing that this policy allows securing the state’s needs at fixed prices.

He explained that the time has come to deal with this mechanism to deal with price fluctuations in basic and strategic commodities, indicating that Egypt is one of the most secure countries for strategic commodities in order to serve citizens.

With regard to gold, he said that gold in Egypt is a store of value, commenting: “Egyptians always say that gold is an adornment and a treasury.”

He added that the Egyptian market is one of the five largest markets for gold trading in the world, stressing that people resort to gold many times to preserve the value of cash against inflation and price changes.

He explained that the demand for gold has increased significantly in the recent period, and that the Stamp and Scales Authority of the Ministry of Supply is the regulator of the gold market, adding that 60 new stamps were stamped, in addition to previously stamped gold.

He stated that with the end of the certificates for the banking sector, there has become great liquidity in the markets, whether real estate, currencies, or the acquisition of precious metals, especially gold, stressing that there is a great demand for bullion and gold pounds, which reached 60 and 70% from the previous.

For her part, Dr. Hanan Ammar, a member of the Egyptian Parliament, submitted a request for a briefing to Counselor Hanafi Jabali, Speaker of the Parliament, addressed to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Supply, and the Minister of Finance regarding the decline in commodity and food prices in various countries of the world to pre-war levels. Ukrainian market,” without reflecting this decline on the local market in Egypt.

In her request, the deputy said: “In world markets, the prices of cereals, vegetable oils, dairy and other agricultural commodities have steadily declined from the record levels they had reached after the outbreak of the ‘Russian-Ukrainian’ war.”

And she continued: The food price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also declined from what it was at the beginning of the Ukraine war. The “FAO” index recorded 131.2 points last January, compared to 135.6 points in January 2022, that is, a month before the outbreak of the war. Russian-Ukrainian, which exacerbated global food prices, helped by good harvests in some regions such as Brazil and Russia, and a grain agreement that allowed shipments to leave the Black Sea.

Ammar revealed that the government has released imported commodities, goods, and products at various ports and customs outlets, worth $23 billion, since last January until now.

She explained that despite this global decline in the prices of commodities and foodstuffs, this decline has not yet reached the Egyptian market, and this decline has not been reflected locally. Rather, domestic commodity prices are currently 19% higher than their level in the world, which is an absolutely unjustified rise.

She pointed out that despite the customs releases taken by the government with a number of strategic commodities, primarily fodder and oils, these releases were not felt by the citizen, who suffers from almost daily increases in the prices of commodities and foodstuffs.

And she stressed that the current wave of high prices that the citizen suffers from should never be left without account for those who carry it out on the part of the merchants, and that the concerned agencies in the Ministry of Supply must play a role in controlling the markets and confronting the greed of merchants in light of this insane rise in prices.