Cairo - Egypt has halted fish exports
after a surge in sales to foreign markets following last
November's currency devaluation led to supply shortages locally
and a spike in domestic prices, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
said.
Sisi did not say how long the suspension would last but
promised Egyptians, who have seen their purchasing power sharply
eroded by the devaluation, that measures would be enforced to
help the market adjust prices lower.
"We used to export 40 000 tonnes of fish a year. Within the
first thee months [of this year] we exported 120 000 tonnes,"
Sisi told a youth conference aired on Egyptian television late
on Tuesday. "[That's why] we took a decision to halt exports of
fish."
Much of Egypt's fish exports heads to the Gulf states.
Egypt abandoned its peg of 8.8 pounds per dollar on Nov.3
and the currency now trades at about 18 per greenback.
The plunge in the pound has driven inflation to over 30 percent,
stoking public pressure on Sisi to revive the ailing economy,
tame prices and create jobs.
File image
The suspension of fish exports comes after the government
this month imposed a tariff on sugar exports of 3 000 Egyptian
pounds per tonne.
"Believe me, we are going towards adjusting prices according
to the market mechanisms but bear with it you will see what
we will do to adjust prices," Sisi said.