Commodities exchange to put Egypt on global map of trading: PM

CAIRO – 22 September 2019: “The commodities exchange will contribute to putting Egypt on the global map of commodity trading, through the planned stock exchange, to exploit its strategic location and contribute to attracting foreign capital,” Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said Sunday.

Madbouli added that it will also increase the state's ability to plan its needs of basic commodities that may be traded in the regulated market.

This came during Madbouli’s meeting to follow up the steps of establishing the commodities exchange in Egypt in the presence of Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali al-Mesalhi, President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce Ibrahim al-Arabi, Chairman of the Egyptian Stock Exchange Mohamed Farid, and officials of a number of concerned parties.

He emphasized that the importance of establishing commodities exchange in Egypt is to protect small farmers by collecting, classifying and pricing their production.

Madbouli added that it also pushes to create transparency in pricing and thus contribute to reducing inflation resulting from fluctuating commodity prices, in addition to the ability to export products to small farmers after issuing a birth certificate for products traded on the exchange.

For his part, Mesalhi stated that Egypt is working on establishing commodities exchange in October.

He added that it was agreed that the share of the commodities exchange would be 60 percent for the government and 40 percent for the private sector, clarifying that the general framework was agreed with the Egyptian stock exchange.

The supply minister stressed that the establishment of the commodities exchange is linked to the logistic areas, and their whereabouts, which is an important part of the internal trade system.

The minister pointed out that there is continuous cooperation with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the Egyptian Stock Exchange in this regard.

According to Mesalhi, there are currently 18 areas in Egypt, and logistical areas or distribution chains are being constructed. He noted that the smallest of these areas spans over 25 feddans.

“Six more areas are ready to be launched,” he stated.