Egypt imposes duty on fish exports following boycott

CAIRO - 7 April 2017: Egypt will impose a duty on exported fish in an attempt to curb a recent price spike, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Abd El-Moneim El Banna said in a Tuesday statement.

The move comes after the price increase sparked boycotts by local consumers.

A meeting was held with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail Tuesday to discuss curbing fish exports and consequently increase supply to the local market by imposing an export duty, the minister said in a Tuesday statement.

Fish merchants have begun exporting their product because the recent devaluation of the Egyptian pound against the dollar makes selling their fish abroad much more lucrative than selling locally. Consequently, local supply has dropped and prices have increased.

Last week, people on social media

called for boycotting fish

because of their high prices, forcing traders in some governorates to reduce their prices after markets saw very low turnout in the two days after the boycott began.