A leading furniture fair has been postponed due to insufficient measures needed to secure the event, Egypt's interior ministry said in an official statement on Thursday. Le Marché was set to take place from 22 to 25 December, but organizers said it was postponed in a surprise move by authorities three days before the opening, causing millions of pounds worth of losses to local manufacturers and traders. In the first official remarks on the reasons for rescheduling the event, the statement quoted an interior ministry official as pointing to the "non-completion of the civil protection and firefighting system that ensures that attendees and contents are protected from fire risks." "The postponement will provide the opportunity to meet the required conditions in this regard," the official said. Organisers published an advertisement earlier this week in Al-Ahram newspaper pleading with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to intervene to solve the matter. The losses incured by over 200 companies participating in the fair are estimated at between EGP 200 and EGP 300 million, Yousry Abul-Naga, head of the fair-organisers' division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, told Ahram Online on Wednesday. Manufacturers and traders say they had hoped the event would boost next year's sales amid a stagnant economy. The fair is co-organised by the Arab African Promoters for International Conferences and Exhibitions (AAPI) and Tarek Nour Communications (TNC), which is owned by advertising mogul Tarek Nour, who also owns satellite TV channel Al-Qahera Wal Nas.
