The Egyptian government is studying a new package of decisions, with the aim of controlling the prices of many food commodities in the markets, including extending a previous decision to exempt some imported goods from customs tax for a period of three months.
Informed government sources said that the new decision includes a number of imported goods, most notably medicines, frozen poultry, and dairy, in addition to butter, sugar, pastries, oils, tea, and sugar, by exempting imports of these products from customs terms.
The Egyptian government announced a few weeks ago an initiative aimed at reducing the prices of many basic commodities, including beans, dairy products, white cheese, mixed oil, pasta, sugar, and lentils, as well as poultry products, eggs, and rice, indicating that it will adopt several measures that contribute to speeding up… Customs release of goods from ports, and alleviation of the obligations incurred by manufacturers and merchants, to contribute to reducing costs for manufacturers and merchants.
The new customs facilities include frozen meat from cattle, sheep, and goats, in addition to poultry meat, dairy, and hydrogenated animal and vegetable oils.
In a related context, the boycott campaigns carried out by several Egyptian governorates for fish, after their prices rose significantly, achieved great success. Mohamed Saada, head of the Port Said Chamber of Commerce, said that the popular campaign carried out by the people of the governorate to boycott fish after their prices increased, resulted in a decline in fish prices by a percentage. It ranged from 50% to 70%, indicating that the prices of chub fish, which is the number one popular dish in Port Said, decreased from 250 pounds per kilo to 100 pounds, and the prices of other types such as mullet, tilapia, pasta, shrimp, bream, and whiting also decreased. Saada said that the boycott campaign will continue until prices return to normal, especially after the significant fluctuation in fish prices during the recent period.