Egypt imposes $663/ton export duty on fish

CAIRO- 27 April 2017: Egypt will impose an export duty of EGP12,000 ($663) per ton on fish exports for a period of four months, to curb a recent price spike that recently hit local markets, Ministry of Trade and Industry announced in a Thursday statement.

The decree will be effective once published in the official gazette, the statement read. Processed fish such as smoked and canned fish, as well as exports to the European Union countries will be excluded.

“The decision comes in light of the ministry’s keenness to provide local market needs of fish after witnessing a significant shortage in supply which led to a price spike on the back of increasing exports over the past period,” Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil said in the statement.

Over the past few weeks, local markets of fish have witnessed a price hike as the fish merchants began exporting their products because the recent devaluation of the Egyptian pound against the dollar makes selling their fish abroad much more lucrative than selling locally.