In Egypt, the Ministry of Trade and Industry decided, on Thursday, to ban the export of “gravel and crushed beans, lentils, wheat, and flour of all kinds, as well as pasta of all kinds,” for a period of 3 months, starting from March 11.
This comes within “proactive decisions”, in light of fears of an economic crisis and a wave of inflation that began affecting the markets, through significant increases in the prices of goods and food in the local market.
Prices in the markets witnessed a significant increase, as the price of a ton of wheat in the Egyptian market increased by about 1,000 pounds, to range from 6,000 to 6,500 pounds, while a ton of pasta rose to 10,000 pounds, compared to about 8,000 pounds before the Ukrainian crisis.
protect food security
The former head of the Importers Division of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Ahmed Shiha, considered that “the decision is important and successful, to provide these materials to the Egyptian market, especially in light of the Ukrainian war crisis and its repercussions.”
Shiha added, in statements to “Sky News Arabia”: “The decision comes in anticipation of the absence of an importer due to the current conditions, and the rise in global prices, which contributes to the provision of goods and not their high prices,” noting that “those who reject such decisions are the unscrupulous who are looking for About gains from crises“.
He continued, “There are policies that have been followed for years to protect Egyptian food security, especially providing a reserve of strategic goods. Recently, the reserve ratios of wheat, rice, oil, sugar and legumes have increased from 3 to 12 months,” stressing that this strategy will reduce the impact of the Ukrainian war, especially That Egypt has enough for the end of the year.
On the current price increases, Shiha considered that they are “artificial by groups of greedy merchants,” adding: “Instead of a 20% gain, they double prices to achieve the highest gains at the expense of the citizen, especially since the goods and the cost have not changed, and their prices have not been affected yet, but what is happening It is the result of monopolies.”
He called on the Egyptian government to “increase deterrence for all exploiters, because what is happening has exceeded all expectations, and affected even local goods that Egypt does not primarily import.”
Government priorities
For her part, Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Commerce at Ain Shams University, Youmna El-Hamaky, said: “The decisions are natural in order to achieve food security and control prices at home,” pointing out that “in the event of an imbalance between supply and demand, the government’s most important priority is to stop exports, to preserve At the level of prices without rising, especially as we are approaching the month of Ramadan, in which the demand for goods is increasing.”
Al-Hamaqi explained, in statements to “Sky News Arabia”, that “the Egyptian market was witnessing a deficit in some commodities,” and she continued: “If we keep exporting, the deficit will increase, and this is the goal of the ban, by increasing supply to balance its percentage with demand, and then prices will drop.” “.
She pointed out that “the government’s priorities in the current period are to control the rhythm of the market and reduce the terrifying effects of global inflation on the Egyptian market after the Ukrainian war.”.
She also pointed out that “the government has worked over the past years to enhance food security, by paying attention to agriculture, encouraging farmers and increasing the local component, which is a positive thing. We are satisfied with rice and sugar, but we need a comprehensive look at oil crops and some sectors such as poultry, in order to achieve balance.” .
Al-Hamaqi pointed out that “Egypt went through similar circumstances several times, the most prominent of which was during the period of floating the pound and the implementation of the economic reform program in 2016, when there was a terrifying inflationary wave that reached 30 percent, and at that time the government intervened to control prices.”
She stressed that “the Egyptian market is not efficient and does not move except in times of crisis, as there are sectors with large monopolies, and unfortunately, despite the extensive efforts of the government, they are dealt with in a phased manner, and perhaps the current crisis is one of the lessons learned to raise the efficiency of the market, and the government has mechanisms for that.” .
The Arab countries collectively import 60 percent of their grain needs from Russia and Ukraine, in addition to France and Romania, but Russia and Ukraine have a special international weight in supplying the Arab world with grain; Due to its low price in both countries.
The figures indicate that Ukraine, the fourth largest exporter of wheat and yellow maize in the world, exported only 17% of the amount of maize and barley that was marketed for global trade in 2020, 40% of it to Arab countries, while Russia is a major exporter of wheat to Egypt..
Even after Cairo, in recent years, began buying wheat from other suppliers, especially from Romania, in 2021 it imported 50 percent of its wheat from Russia, and 30 percent from Ukraine..
government actions
On the repercussions of the war and the government’s measures, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a press conference: “The Russian-Ukrainian crisis has had negative repercussions and crises in all countries of the world, and therefore its effects were reflected on us in Egypt.”.
He added, “But the government has worked for a while to diversify its sources of wheat imports in anticipation of any crises, and it has also succeeded in forming a strategic stockpile of wheat that suffices for 4 months, in addition to the local crop that will start supplying as of mid-April.”
He continued, “Among the measures taken by the state is also to secure the availability of basic commodities in the markets at this delicate stage in which the world is holding its breath, until this global crisis passes.”“.
Madbouly stressed “the need to deal decisively with any practices that are unacceptable by some greedy traders,” especially since the state has worked during the past periods, and until now, to provide various types of basic commodities and to secure a strategic reserve of them..
The sustainable development strategy “Egypt Vision 2030” included several goals directly related to the promotion of the right to food, the most important of which is increasing the agricultural area, increasing agricultural production, achieving self-sufficiency in a number of strategic commodities, protecting agricultural lands, developing agricultural technology, and establishing agricultural industries clusters. Taking into account the environmental dimension, moving towards sustainable agriculture, and developing livestock, poultry and fisheries.
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