Egypt to announce establishing commodity exchange management company next week

CAIRO – 19 August 2020: Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade will organize an international press conference next week to announce the establishment of a commodity exchange management company, which would work to organize the process of trading various food and consumer goods between producers and traders," Assistant Minister of Supply and Internal Trade and head of the Internal Trade Development Authority, Ibrahim Ashmawy said Wednesday.

Ashmawy told local newspaper that the final touches are being put in place for the Commodity Exchange Management Company for both the legal and the administrative aspects of the company.

Ashmawy added that the capital of the Commodity Exchange Management Company is LE 100 million, with the participation of Banque Misr, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) , the Agricultural Bank and Commercial International Bank, Hermes, in addition to the Ministry of Supply, the Holding Company for Food Industries, the General Authority for Supply Commodities, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Egyptian Industries.

Previously, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali Al-Moselhi, emphasized that the existence of approved warehouses is indispensable for the start of the commodity exchange project, explaining that it organizes supply and demand processes and through which the owner of the commodity or the farmer can advertise his products.

Ashmawy indicated that the technical specifications of the strategic warehouses and stores have been completed and are being presented to major developers, and that the investment cost for establishing these giant warehouses reaches LE 3 billion for each strategic warehouse, with a total cost estimated at LE 21 billion for 7 warehouses.

He also explained that the selection of the locations of these strategic warehouses for the commodity exchange is done according to technical specifications, the most important of which is to be near the main network of hubs and sea and dry ports to ensure easy access to the packing warehouses and set them up on a geographical scale that guarantees better, faster and more efficient coverage of goods and their supplies at the level of the country.

In 2019, Egypt announced the establishment of the commodity exchange to be in October, but the process was delayed.

A commodity exchange is a legal entity that determines and enforces rules and procedures for trading standardized commodity contracts and related investment products. A commodity exchange also refers to the physical center where trading takes place. It is a market in which products and commodities are sold in bulk. 
 

In fact, the first fruit and vegetable exchange was established in Badr City, Beheira Governorate, in Unit No. 1 to store vegetables and fruits, instead of markets, where goods are spoiled. It is an integrated enterprise with an industrial and a commercial part. 

Q&A on Egypt's commodity exchange

CAIRO - 24 September 2019: Earlier this week, Egypt announced the establishment of the commodityexchange in October, which opens the door for questions about this kind of exchange, how it works, andhow it will regulate the prices of the commodities in the Egypt. Egypt Today reviews more details about this exchange in Q&A form.