The Egyptian government is taking measures to increase the supply of goods and stabilize prices following recent hikes, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Sunday. He chaired a meeting with relevant ministers to discuss the situation, emphasizing the government's commitment to monitoring market activity and ensuring nationwide availability of goods. The meeting was attended by Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development; Sherif Farouk, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade; and Mostafa El-Sayyad, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. Madbouly stressed the need to eliminate middlemen and called for the establishment of more sales outlets and exhibitions throughout the country to provide citizens with access to goods at reasonable prices. He also highlighted the importance of mobile outlets to reach residents in remote areas.
Awad discussed the Ministry of Local Development's efforts to address rising food prices, noting recent meetings with relevant ministries and agencies to coordinate a collective response. She mentioned the creation of a permanent committee to control prices and a mechanism for monitoring commodity prices and market movements.
Concerning the issue of rising egg prices, Awad stated that there are currently 2,567 operational farms across the country, with a production capacity of approximately 14 billion eggs per year. She noted the coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture to reactivate inactive farms and egg production lines. Awad provided a detailed overview of the situation regarding egg farms, specifying the number of farms in each governorate and their production capacity. She identified farms operating at full capacity, those functioning at around 60% capacity, and those that are currently inactive. Madbouly instructed a prompt meeting with the owners of inactive farms to address their issues and boost egg production.
Awad also discussed the country's food commodity sales outlets, which number around 4,539 across various governorates. These outlets include those belonging to consumer cooperatives, governorates, the armed forces, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture, consumer complexes associated with Supply Directorates, and other government entities. She mentioned several initiatives, including "Jam'iyati," "Kulna Wahed," school outlets, civil society organizations, "Decent Life," mobile outlets, and supermarket participation in these initiatives.
The Minister of Supply confirmed that the ministry is actively working on stabilizing prices for various strategic goods. He referenced recent actions regarding the provision of eggs and the availability of imported goods to help achieve price stability. He also highlighted efforts to reduce the role of middlemen by establishing more direct sales outlets connecting farms with citizens, and he mentioned ongoing work to implement sustainable measures to combat rising prices.
The Minister reviewed the procurement of strategic goods, discussing the available reserves, including items covered under the ration card system and those provided outside of it. He indicated that upcoming meetings with production companies would focus on discussing production costs and volumes, which will help meet citizens' needs.
Furthermore, the Minister emphasized efforts to ensure that goods are accessible to citizens through various fixed or mobile outlets, in cooperation with relevant authorities. These include one-day markets, permanent markets, complex company branches, distribution company booths, and other sales points.
Meanwhile, El-Sayyad stated that poultry prices are currently appropriate given the costs, noting a decrease compared to previous levels. He projected that prices would continue to fall due to a decrease in feed prices and improvements in feed availability. The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation added that prices for "day-old chicks" have begun to decline, which will subsequently lead to increased egg production starting next December. He mentioned that 420,000 "day-old chicks" have been imported recently, marking an unprecedented amount exceeding previous import levels. He confirmed that the upcoming period would see an increase in production and price stability, with current imports contributing to this stability.
