In a statement Wednesday, Abu Bakr el-Guindi, president of the state-run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), noted that the inflation rate had risen 13.6 percent in January compared to 13.1 percent the month before. El-Guindi went on to warn of further increases "if the government doesn't exercise more control over the market." El-Guindi attributed last month's increase to a rise in food prices by 22.5 percent for the same period, during which vegetable prices rose by 76 percent; fruit by 42.9 percent; sugar by 25.6 percent; meat by 16.8 percent; cooking oil by 10.6 percent; milk by 6.4 percent; fish by 6.3 percent; tea and coffee by 9.5 percent; and juices by 11.4 percent. According to economy expert Sherif Sami, foodstuffs alone account for roughly 50 percent of total expenditures in Egypt. "These are the main triggers for inflation, followed by prices of fuel and transportation," Sami explained. Banking consultant Passent Fahmy, for her part, urged the government to combat market monopolies in order to reduce inflation, contending that the creation of an Antitrust Authority was not a sufficient deterrent. Council of Ministers spokesman Magdy Rady, meanwhile, said Egypt's gross domestic product had risen by 5.1 percent between October and December of last year. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
