By Enaam Eladawy
A planned food industries expo has been postponed indefinitely in the wake of the recent attack near Rafah which saw the border crossing to Gaza closed for an indeterminate time.
The Cairo Chamber of Commerce (CCC)’s Board of Directors decided to postpone the expo which was scheduled to take place in Gaza in September.
Sameh Zaki, a member of the CCC’s Board, noted that the CCC had already applications from companies that wished to participate in the expo, which would have featured 50 companies.
Zaki said the decision was necessary because of the border closure, the national alert and stricter security procedures along the Egyptian-Israeli borders. Such measures hinder the movement of goods between Egypt and Gaza he said, pointing out that even when circumstances are stable, companies fear transporting their goods to the strip.
In another reaction to the border closure, cement companies decreased prices.
Mahmoud Elkenany, member of Construction Materials Division with the Mansoura Chamber of Commerce, said companies decreased cement prices by five percent after cement stopped flowing into Gaza after the attack.
However Magdy Satour, Director of Sales at the Sinai Cement Company, noted the stagnation in the construction materials sector, particularly during Ramadan, was also factor behind the price decrease.
