UNPRECEDENTED price hikes of basic food commodities kept consumers complaining throughout the year. Most food products witnessed a notable increase due to a clear gap between production and consumption. Summer was the peak when some products shot by up to 100 per cent. The prices of meat, poultry, vegetables, fruits and sugar are the most stark examples. Beef prices doubled and the government had to import cattle as well as meat from Ethiopia to increase supply and bring prices down. Vegetables and fruits were hit by the unusually hot summer which caused harvest shortages. In August green beans reached LE17 per kilo while tomato went for LE10 per kilo. These hikes took their toll on the inflation rate leading it to fluctuate from one month to another but overall it remained throughout the year at an average of 10 per cent. This in turn has encouraged the Central Bank of Egypt Egypt's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep the overnight deposit rate and overnight lending rate unchanged throughout the year at 8.25 per cent and 9.75 per cent, respectively. The discount rate was also kept unchanged at 8.5 per cent.