The maximum prices of steel witnessed a reduction in July to average between EGP 25-150 per tonne, Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy announced in a Wednesday statement. Among companies that reduced their prices are El-Marakby for Steel, which discounted EGP 25 per tonne to reach EGP 4,825, and Medi Steel, which reduced EGP 100 per tonne to reach EGP 4,550. Egypt Steel also decreased their prices by EGP 100 to reach EGP 4,650. Steel production in July has marked 130,825 tonnes, to make 369,726 tonnes the total amount of steel supplied to the market. The quantity sold in the domestic market in June amounted to 109,128 tonnes, according to Hanafy. Egypt's steel production was expected to witness a shift after the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade's recent decision to prepare tools and regulations for issuing operating licences in the steel and cement industry. Minister of Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour imposed in April protection fees on imported rebar steel, at 8% for one tonne, or no less than EGP 408 per tonne. The decision will last for three years, with the first years' protection rates amounting to the prior mentioned fees. The following year, they will reach EGP 325 per tonne, and the year after they will stand at EGP 175 per tonne. The decision came after imposing temporary protection fees on imported steel for 200 days that started from October 2014. The step was taken by the ministry to protect the local industry from a significant increase in steel imports. In September 2014, Abdel Nour said his ministry had not studied issuing licences for steel and cement industries operations, "because the country is suffering from a huge energy crisis". At the time, however, he expected that this issue will be solved due to the new investments that will be pumped in the energy sector in the areas of natural gas, oil, solar energy and coal.
