The mobile market awaits a partial breakthrough as the government promises to release all goods stuck at ports. The mobile market has suffered a shortage recently and high prices which affected sales negatively.
The Egyptian market sold about 13 million mobile devices in 2021, according to GFK for market research.
Walid Ramadan, Vice President of the Mobile and Communications Division of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, said that a decline in the prices of mobile devices is expected in the coming months if imported devices were released from ports.
Ramadan added that there are signs of a partial breakthrough in the mobile market, especially with official statements from the government to release all goods at ports during the coming period.
Ramadan expected a decline of up to 15% in the coming months, supported by the availability of goods in the market again.
The mobile market suffers from a shortage in the supply of mobile devices due to the import restrictions imposed by CBE’s decisions last March regarding the opening of letters of credit, and most mobile dealers and companies have not been able to enter new shipments to the Egyptian market since the end of last March.
Import restrictions have caused a shortage of devices available in the market and a significant increase in the prices of mobile devices.
Egypt’s imports of mobile phones declined 50.7% to $299.1m during the first four months of last year, compared to $607m in the same period of the year before.
Mohamed El Mahdy, former deputy of the Mobile Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, said that the government gives priority in customs clearance for food and other basic products.
El Mahdy believes that in the event of the release of imported mobile devices, a breakthrough will occur in the market, which suffered greatly in 2022.
A source attributed the significant increase in the prices of mobile devices throughout the year 2022 to the unavailability of mobile devices in the market.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced in early January that the government will announce weekly the imported commodities to be released from ports, stressing that all goods will be released within days.
Last December, Madbouly announced the release of $5bn worth of goods from ports. The total value of the imported goods stuck in ports amounted to $15bn.
