EGYPT – The Egyptian government has taken decisive action by extending the ban on sugar exports for an additional three months, as reported in the Official Gazette on Thursday.
According to the report, the only exception to the ban is for surplus quantities, a move aimed at addressing the ongoing challenges in the sugar market.
This decision follows a recent announcement by the General Authority for Supply Commodities, which unveiled plans to import 50,000 tons of raw sugar through a tender.
The sugar supply gap has not only led to soaring prices but has also resulted in a shortage of unsubsidized sugar in various stores across Egypt.
The sugar export ban was initially extended in September, with the exception of quantities deemed surplus to the local market’s needs. However, the persistence of supply challenges prompted the government to prolong the ban further.
In an attempt to stabilize the sugar market, Egypt introduced the trading of sugar on the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange platform (EME) on August 17.
EME Chairman, Ibrahim Ashmawy, reported the sale of 5,000 tons of sugar at a price of 24.5 thousand tons. Despite this initiative, the sugar market continued to face difficulties, contributing to the current shortage.
The situation intensified last week when the advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Supply and others were arrested in connection with a large-scale corruption network scandal.
Following these arrests, the markets experienced a notable relief in sugar stocks and prices. The basic commodity began to reappear in markets with prices ranging between 27 pounds and 38 pounds.
Recently, the Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade announced plans to increase the rations of subsidized sugar distributed to families to cushion against the increasing prices.
In a statement, the ministry said it has raised the amounts of subsidized sugar distributed through ration cards, which cater to different family sizes.
Families with up to three individuals will now receive an additional one kilogram of sugar, while those with four individuals or more will see a more substantial increase of 2 kilograms.
The government had also earlier issued a 10-day ultimatum to merchants to adjust sugar prices failure to which the government warned of forced pricing measures.
While addressing people at the third Nebu Gold Expo in Cairo, Egypt’s minister of supply and internal trade, Ali Moselhi, called on merchants to heed to the 10-day period to review their prices before the government resorts to advanced regulatory measures.
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