The Egyptian government decides to increase the price of sugar

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Egypt’s minister of supplies and domestic trade, Ali Moselhi, decided to raise the price of sugar starting from January 2022 to 10.5 pounds per Kg instead of 8.5 pounds. The minister attributed the increase to the high international prices due to inflation and said, in a press conference, the ministry will not earn from this increase.

The decision resulted from the increase of sugar prices over the past year as the ton increased from 7500 pounds to 10600 pounds. Merchants attributed the increase to the lack of offer, while the government said it has a strategic reserve for 4 months. Merchants said the governmental factories that seizes 60% of the total production do not work in full capacity due to lack of raw material, whether sugar cane or beet, after farmers stopped planting these crops because the price of them remained constant over the past 3 years despite of the increase of their planting cost.

The prices of food products in Egypt recorded recurrent spiking increases over 2021, as meat increased from 130 pounds per Kg to 170 pounds and chicken from 31 to 38 pounds. Flour also increased by 30% during 2021, while oil increased by 25%.