Local prices for dairy products and sugar have recently risen by between 5 and 10 percent, while beef prices have risen slightly and poultry prices decreased. Juhayna Dairy Products President Safwan Thabet attributed the increase in dairy products prices to a concurrent rise in fresh milk prices. Milk Production Farms Association President Mohamed el-Tarouti, however, blamed dairy manufacturers for the latest hikes. "These companies have reduced their purchase prices from milk farms by 35 percent," he said, calling on the Trade and Industry Ministry to implement a pricing policy earlier established by a joint Trade and Industry/Agriculture Ministry committee. "According to Agriculture Ministry figures, total investments in fresh milk farms currently stand at LE75 billion," El-Tarouti said. Ministry statistics further reveal that milk farms are now supplying dairy products companies with between 500 and 700 tons of fresh milk daily, of which 400 tons go to the Juhayna company alone. The joint ministerial committee is slated to convene later this month to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, beef prices have risen to between LE45 and LE60 per kilo, while live cattle prices jumped from LE17 to LE25 per kilo. Poultry prices, meanwhile, have fallen from LE16 to LE13 per kilo. Imported Indian beef is selling locally for between LE18 and LE20 per kilo and Brazilian beef for between LE20 and LE25, with global beef prices rising by between US$100 and US$150 per ton. Sugar, meanwhile, rose to an average retail price of LE4.50 per kilo, although prices are expected to fall again once local production of sugar cane and beetroot sugar is introduced in February. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
