CAIRO - 30 December 2023: Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly issued a decision, on Saturday, declaring seven essential commodities, namely mixed oil, broad beans, rice, milk, sugar, pasta, and white cheese, as strategic products in the application of Consumer Protection Law No. 181 of 2018.
The law prohibits withholding these goods and products from trading, whether by hiding them, not offering them for sale, refusing to sell them, or in any other form, for a period of six months starting from the date of implementing this decision or until further notice, whichever comes first.
The decision obliges holders of the mentioned seven commodities, for purposes other than personal use, including producers, suppliers, distributors, and sellers, to immediately notify the relevant directorates of supply and internal trade nationwide about the type and quantities of these goods they may have in stock, provided that the supply controls and procedures are adhered to, as determined by a decision of the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade.
According to the decision, anyone who violates the provisions of this decision will be subject to the penalties stipulated in Article 71 of Consumer Protection Law No. 181 of 2018.
Additionally, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 4585 for the year 2023 to form a permanent technical secretariat for the committee recently formed under the chairmanship of the Minister of Planning and Economic Development. This committee is concerned with studying mechanisms for market control and commodity prices.
The technical secretariat, led by the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) of the Cabinet, includes representatives from various relevant entities, including the ministries of supply and internal trade, planning and economic development, agriculture and land reclamation, trade and industry, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the Consumer Protection Agency, and the Competition Protection and Prevention of Monopolistic Practices Authority.
The technical secretariat is tasked with periodically monitoring availability, production quantities, consumption, and imports, developing a comprehensive system for monitoring price controls, establishing measurement indicators to ensure the stability of fair consumer prices, and digitizing all processes of trading and selling goods through an updated system from production to consumer sales.
Furthermore, the technical secretariat will conduct weekly monitoring of prices for basic commodities provided by producers, packagers, distributors, and analyze them through an electronic platform. It will also conduct monthly follow-ups on data related to production, consumption, and inventory of basic commodities, which will be provided to the committee responsible for studying proposed mechanisms.
These mechanisms aim to contribute to market control and commodity prices, involving primarily the ministries of supply and internal trade, agriculture and land reclamation, in addition to coordination with security and supervisory authorities regarding market monitoring, controlling violators, and ensuring the availability of basic commodities to citizens.
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