A statement issued Saturday by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) admitted that recent hikes in meat and poultry prices, 25 percent and 40 percent respectively, exceed international standard increases. The statement is the first government concession of its kind. In response to the price rises, the CBE has decided to render local lending firms exempt from the 50 percent down payment requirement it enforces on meat and poultry importers when requesting loans. As a result, the lenders will be free to stipulate the loan agreement with the importer. The CBE contends this move with contain the price hike crisis by staving off inflationary tendencies. Hamdy al-Naggar, head of the importers sector at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FECC), hailed CBE's decision, saying it will help mitigate rising prices for meat imports within the coming period. Al-Naggar said that the Egyptian market is affected by international price fluctuations and stressed the need to impose tough import standards and conditions in order to make it easier to import from some European states. On his behalf, FECC's head of the poultry section, Abdel Aziz al-Sayyid, said the CBE decision benefits frozen poultry meat importers by bridging the gap between local production and consumption. Al-Sayyid predicted a new hike in poultry prices within the coming days fueled by a parallel rise in fodder prices. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
