Minister of Trade and Industry, Nevine Gamea, has issued a decision banning white sugar imports for a period of three months.
She added that sugar imported as a production requirement for pharmaceutical industries are exempted from the ban, provided that approval is issued by the competent authority at the Ministry of Health and Population.
The decision has also banned raw sugar imports, except with certified approval by the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trading.
Gamea said the decision aims to protect Egypt’s production of sugar from global price volatility, after the fall in oil prices and subsequent 30% decline in sugar prices
Minister of Supply and Internal Trading Ali Meselhi noted that there has been a significant increase in sugar imports and stockpiling by local companies in the past period.
This comes on the back of Egypt consuming about 3-3.2 million tonnes of sugar annually, including 2.4 million tonnes of locally produced sugar. He pointed out that new projects that are set to enter the production stage soon will contribute to the country’s achieving self-sufficiency in sugar production.
