Egypt’s PM in Alexandria to follow up on measures of releasing goods stuck at port

CAIRO – 31 December 2022: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli has visited Alexandria on Saturday to follow up on measures of releasing goods stuck at ports as per presidential directives.

Last week, the Egyptian Cabinet announced plans to release goods at the ports, especially food products, medicines, and production requirements, which have been stuck at ports for months due to shortage in foreign currency.

From the beginning of this month until the 23rd, Egypt succeeded in releasing about $5 billion worth of goods in the ports, while the value of the goods withheld now amounts to about $9.5 billion, according to statements by the Cabinet.

 

Madbouly said his visit comes to follow up on measures of releasing goods in Alexandria Port as part of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s to release goods stuck at the ports nationwide to provide the requirements of local market and reassure citizens that the state is keen to secure their needs.

The Cabinet has agreed with the banking sector on priorities regarding goods that will be released, Madbouly said, adding that the authorities will prioritize food, food manufacturing components, medicines, and manufacturing requirements.

In a press conference, Madbouly added that the main goal of his visit is to ensure a qualitative leap in the release of stuck goods, affirming that the government has a comprehensive plan for releasing goods in all ports.

 

He said that goods worth 1.25 billion have been released from 23 December until Friday, noting that the government will release weekly figures of released goods.

On Thursday, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced canceling the letter of credit (LC) system as a requirement for imports. The CBE’s February decision to oblige banks to deal with LCs was blamed for causing Egyptian ports to be full of stuck goods worth billions of dollars.

The CBE said in a statement that it decided to restore the documentary collections system for imported goods.

The decision to enforce the LCs system, effective since March, had required Egyptian banks to accept only LCs for imports in a bid to curb dollar outflows from the country.