Demand for glasses drops 40% as prices double y-o-y

Demand for prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses have dropped by about 40% from the levels of summer 2016 as prices have increased by more than 100% since then, Chairman of Magrabi Optical Ibrahim El Maghrabi told Al Mal. He says prices were impacted by the float of the EGP and, for sunglasses, the new value-added taxes (VAT). El Maghrabi says the opticians section of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce is preparing to send the Finance Ministry a memo asking for sunglasses to become exempt from VAT, as they are often prescribed to patients and could thus be seen as having medical purposes.