October 4, 2010

Egyptian meat and poultry price hikes exceed global standards

The recent price hikes in Egypt's meat and poultry prices have exceeded international standards, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said on Saturday (October 2).

Meat prices had increased by 25%, while poultry prices had increased by 40%. In response to the price hikes, the CBE has decided to render local lending firms exempt from the 50% down payment required by 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 containing 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), supported the 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.

FECC's head of poultry, 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.