Written by Hind Mukhtar
Monday, March 25, 2024 05:31 PM
In implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, and with the aim of announcing an initiative to reduce prices, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, held an expanded meeting today, at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, with major manufacturers, producers and suppliers of food commodities, such as: sugar, grains, Rice, wheat, flour, pasta, tea, dairy, cheese, ghee, butter, meat, and oils, as well as engineering and electronic goods, and representatives of major commercial chains, represent more than 70% of the market size, in the presence of Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi, Minister of Supply and Trade. Interior, Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Al-Sayyid Al-Quseir, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Engineer Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, Ahmed Al-Wakil, President of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Dr. Alaa Ezz, Secretary-General of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, and Muhammad Abu Musa, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Sisi, Assistant Minister of Finance for the General Budget, and Wael Ziada, Assistant Minister of Planning for Economic Affairs and Investment.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister welcomed the attendees at the Council of Ministers headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, offering them his sincere congratulations on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, stressing that the government was keen, in light of the unprecedented crisis that the Egyptian state went through, to support the private sector and commercial chains, with faith and conviction. Complete with the mechanisms of the free market, and in appreciation of the conditions that this sector has gone through, pointing out that the great challenge that has always been presented during his continuous meetings with producers and merchants; It was represented by the problem of providing production requirements and raw materials, the unavailability of hard currency, and the fluctuation of the dollar price, which was resolved as a result of the recent measures taken by the state.
The Prime Minister said: In light of the steps taken by the government and the Central Bank, the crisis has no longer existed, which is evident in the availability of the dollar during the past days, as well as at a much lower price than the parallel market, noting at the same time that citizens received a number of news that… During the recent period, the state was able to complete the deal for the development of the city of Ras El Hekma on the northwestern coast, as well as the agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund, as well as activating the partnership with the European Union. They realized the availability of a large volume of foreign currency, but the citizen remains He has a question about the impact of this on the decline in prices of goods and products in the markets.
In this context, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly pointed out the initiative presented by a number of manufacturers and merchants before the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, as well as during the opening of the “Welcome Ramadan” exhibition, which includes reducing prices by 20%. However, the citizen still suffers from… He complains about the continued rise in the prices of some goods recently despite the decline in the dollar exchange rate by 50 or 40% of the previous value of pricing on them through the parallel market, pointing to what the President of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce said earlier that there is a price cycle that extends between two weeks to Three weeks, and once it ends, prices will decline automatically, stressing that work must be done to reduce prices by tangible percentages. So that the citizen feels it, and so that it parallels the measures taken by the state to provide foreign currency.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister noted that the unprecedented inflation was due to major commodities, and as a result the Central Bank was forced to raise interest rates by 8 basis points as an emergency measure to stop inflation. He also pointed out that the only way out of the cycle of inflation is to reduce the prices of major commodities in proportion to… The value of the dollar’s decline in the parallel market, and this solution is a participatory role between the government and merchants whose goal is to stand with the Egyptian citizen, who has endured a lot during the past period, and therefore the markets must be controlled.
Madbouly added that according to the numbers presented through the Ministry of Finance regarding goods in the ports; We have always faced the problem of goods accumulating in the ports, and not leaving them due to the lack of the dollar. Today, the government, in cooperation with the banking system, was able to complete the procedures for goods worth more than 4.5 billion dollars, and there are currently no accumulated goods remaining, as goods worth about $2 billion have been exited. 8 billion dollars, and remaining goods worth 1.7 billion dollars. All paperwork procedures were completed and the dollar was provided in the banks, but their owners refused to receive it, waiting for further declines in the dollar. He continued: Today, the Ministry of Finance directed the confiscation of all these goods, and it will be applied to these goods. Law and rules regarding waste and waste.
The Prime Minister confirmed that the government, for its part, implemented what was required of it, and was able, in cooperation with the banking system, to provide hard currency and end the procedures for the exit of goods from the ports, but the owners of the goods refuse to go to release them, under the pretext that they have a month’s grace without paying a fine or the cost of flooring. At the ports, waiting for the value of the dollar to fall in order to achieve gains, indicating that the continued presence of these goods in the ports causes a shortage in the quantities available in the market. He explained that at a time when the value of the dollar was rising, some tried to achieve gains, and also when the dollar began to decline, others are now trying to achieve gains again without regard to the ordinary citizen, and he said: All we ask today is for us to understand and realize that we are all in the service of the citizen, who must To feel the impact of the measures taken by the state in the recent period, especially with regard to prices.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, confirmed that what we are asking at this time is to see real measures in a realistic decrease in prices, not only for food commodities, but also for basic commodities that represent a major need for the citizen, such as durable goods and appliances, and not by a simple percentage such as 2% and 3%. And 5%, but in proportions greater than that. If the pricing in the past time was done at a high price for the dollar from the parallel market, amounting to about 72 pounds, then the price has now decreased, to about 46 pounds, that is, about half the value, after all the measures that were taken. On the part of the state, there must be a greater return on these measures.
Madbouly pointed out the necessity of reaching an initiative from the government and the private sector in all its sectors, based on the directives of the President of the Republic, to provide a tangible impact for the citizen to be happy with during this period, which we hope will be overcome quickly. He pointed out that the President of the Republic stressed during his speech at the Egyptian Women’s Celebration that the state, even if it believes in mechanisms The free market, however, cannot leave the citizen to suffer from prices, especially since the reasons for their rise are no longer there. There must be a fundamental decline in prices and real reductions that are actually felt by the citizen on the ground.
For his part, Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, said that the dollar was available, most of the required raw materials were released, and the market began to respond relatively to some of the reductions, noting that a number of joint meetings were held with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in cooperation with the General Union of Chambers. Trade and the Federation of Egyptian Industries, regarding the agreement to immediately reduce prices for products and goods whose costs have actually been reduced. It was also agreed with the basic chains that the price before the initiative should exist and be crossed out, and the new price should be written after the initiative with a reduction ranging between 15-20%. There are some commodities that can decrease by more than 20%, such as beans and lentils, and there are products whose price is not affected by the dollar and are local, so their price can be reduced as well.
The Minister of Supply said: The minimum price reduction should be between 15% and 20%, citing the price of a bottle of oil. For example, the price of a bottle of oil was 100 pounds. The old price must be removed from it and the new price written on it, which is 80 pounds, and so on. For the rest of the basic commodities, which include: flour, pasta, beans, and lentils.
Mr. Al-Quseir, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, explained that pricing in poultry, meat, and eggs is always calculated to be linked to the break-even point, which is calculated by linking to the dollar with the addition of the feed value variable, indicating that as a result of the dollar price moving lower than the parallel market, it was accompanied by a significant decrease in The price of a ton of feed and soybeans, which should be reflected in a decrease in the prices of poultry, meat, and eggs automatically and naturally, so prices must be reviewed.
Ahmed Al-Wakil, President of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, indicated that a number of meetings were held with the Minister of Supply and manufacturers in the Federation of Industries to reduce the prices of goods, in accordance with the directives of Mr. President, noting that prices have been reduced by rates ranging from 20 to 30%, and within a short period the citizen will feel… With this decrease in the prices of goods, retailers were called upon to clearly reduce the prices of goods, pointing to the solidarity of merchants and manufacturers during the last period with the aim of reducing the prices of goods so that the citizen feels a clear difference in price levels.
During the meeting, the attendees thanked the Prime Minister and the ministers present for the efforts made by the government to control markets and commodity prices, as well as providing the raw materials necessary for manufacturing operations, stressing that the coming period will witness a gradual decline in the prices of many commodities and food products.
The meeting also witnessed a number of interventions from merchants, manufacturers, and representatives of commercial chains, where Saif Al-Din Abed, a representative of Mufaddal Food Industries Company, explained that prices had already been reduced by between 25 to 30% for his company’s products; As lentils decreased from more than 65 pounds to about 48 pounds, the price of beans also decreased from 38 pounds to 27 pounds, and rice prices also decreased, in the wholesale market, adding that his company, despite reducing prices as a supplier within the framework of government initiatives and procedures, did not have The ability to control the final price that reaches the consumer, in reference to the small outlets that consumers deal with.
In this regard, the Prime Minister directed the need to reach retailers who deal directly with the consumer. The necessity of having a mechanism to reduce prices in all outlets and shops. They often intend to keep the price high despite its decline in the wholesale market, stressing that the role of the state in the current period requires that the citizen feel the positive measures that are being taken.
During the meeting, Ahmed Rahim, General Manager of the Carrefour chains of Majid Al Futtaim Retail, said: We are committed to amending any price lists that we will receive at a discount from the companies supplying us, with the new price within less than 24 hours in all Carrefour branches, without any waiting, similar to what was done. This happened in the case of oil supply companies, as these companies sent us discounted price lists, and we adjusted them on the same day.
At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the state’s faith and complete conviction in the role of the Egyptian private sector in development, pointing out that we talked a lot about the state’s direction towards empowering this sector more in order to lead the various sectors of the Egyptian economy, as everyone has one goal, which is to serve the Egyptian citizen. We, as a government and the private sector, must strive together to control the markets as soon as possible, and begin monitoring the market movement and the extent of the decline in prices between 15-20% during the current period, and announce this, while working to reach 30% after the Eid, as confirmed by the President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce. He said: I will follow up on this matter myself periodically.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister directed the deployment of follow-up teams in the Council of Ministers in all branches of commercial chains and supermarkets over the coming days, and the preparation of a detailed report on prices, in audio and video, that reflects what is really happening on the ground.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly also directed the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, in cooperation with the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Industries, to prepare a daily report on the declines that occur in prices, provided that this report includes realistic monitoring of real price levels.
The Prime Minister stressed that, according to what was agreed upon, prices must decrease within 48 hours by between 15% and 20%, provided that the decline levels increase gradually during the coming days, reaching 30% after Eid al-Fitr.
In this context, the Minister of Supply said that this is indeed what was agreed upon with the merchants.
ظهرت في الأصل على m.youm7.com