Cabinet to kick off food and commodities discounts

[DJKeefy]

The Egyptian Cabinet announced Wednesday that a series of discounts on food products and necessary commodities is set to start in April in order to ease the financial “burden on the citizens” and help them face “the phenomenon of increasing prices”.

“This comes as part of the [government’s] interest in consumer complexes and the aim to improve them and increase their competitive advantage,” the cabinet said in an official statement.

The cabinet said, however, that the discounts started on 5 April and will end on 15 April, leaving just a week for citizens to take advantage of the announced offer.

The annual inflation rate registered at 10.2% in February, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The urban consumer inflation rate in February also increased 15.7% year on year and 0.3% month on month.

The discount will range between 10% and 15% and will be implemented in all the branches of consumer complexes that belong to the Food Industries Holding Company.

Cooking oil, tomatoes, rice, meats and fish are all included in the cabinet’s discount announcement, along with dairy products, juices and canned goods.

At the begging of March, Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy dubbed the current Egyptian bread distribution system as a “failure”.

“This system allowed bakery owners to smuggle flour and sell it on the black market at higher prices,” Hanafy said, during a press conference. The bread distribution system has wasted between 20% and 25% of the state’s bread subsidies budget, which amounts to around EGP 21bn, he said.

Hanafy announced that his ministry is currently working with real estate developers, exploring the possibility of establishing Egypt’s first integrated commercial city as a tool to boost tourism and generate jobs.

Source: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/04/0 ... discounts/

[BENNU]

Hanafy announced that his ministry is currently working with real estate developers, exploring the possibility of establishing Egypt’s first integrated commercial city as a tool to boost tourism and generate jobs.

I was wondering what on Earth an integrated commercial city would be:

:read:

Egypt considers establishing first integrated commercial city

Doaa Farid

Minister of Supply says city would boost shopping tourism and generate job opportunities


The Ministry of Supply is working with real estate developers to explore the possibility of establishing the country’s first integrated commercial city,, hoping to boost shopping tourism and generate jobs, Minister of Supply and Domestic Trade Khaled Hanafy said on Monday.

The city would host shops, offices and other commercial activities, Hanafy said during the real estate summit Cityscape Egypt, which was launched to discuss investment opportunities in the sector.

“This could be a national project for the country, however, it is still an idea,” Hanafy said.

During the conference, Hanafy also discussed Egypt’s position as a foreign trade hub. There are several problems in the infrastructure sector halting the country from using its geographical location to be a trading centre, he said, adding that 70% of Egypt’s land is unused.

With the aim of easing the trade process, Hanafy said his ministry is planning to launch a “trade intelligence system” that will include information about trade structure, opportunities and regulations.

The Ministry of Supply is also studying regulations that cripple investors in the foreign and internal trade sectors, Hanafy said.

As a part of the national programme to develop Egypt’s trade, the Internal Trade Development Authority signed an agreement with Gharbeya Governorate in January to establish Egypt’s first logistics and trade complex.

The national programme will establish logistic centres in the country’s 27 governorates, which will provide high quality products with reduced prices, to attract local and foreign investments, the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce said.

Egypt’s trade deficit in the first half of 2013/2014 registered $15.4bn, sliding 16.7% from $18.5bn during the same period in the previous fiscal year, according to the Central Bank of Egypt.

Merchandise exports surged from $11.7bn to $12.6bn, marking a 7.5% increase, while merchandise imports dropped from $30.2bn to $28bn, highlighting the improvement in the trade deficit.
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