The nation’s talking heads are concerned about onion prices and how the Suez Canal is coping amid growing tensions in the Red Sea.

One commodity crisis at a time, please. Onion prices have seen a dramatic jump in prices over the past few weeks, which saw it jump to EGP 40 per kilo from EGP 28 per kilo at the beginning of the month, but supply shortages are not to blame, the Agriculture Ministry’s Mahmoud Atta told Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 3:39).

Blame the wholesalers: “There is no crisis in the production of the goods themselves — the problem stems from traders hoarding the goods and selling them at higher prices,” he said. The Agriculture Ministry found 31k tons of hoarded onions in two areas in Giza, the ministry’s Mamdouh Sibai told Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 16:06).

Potatoes may be next: El Hadidi said that it looks like potatoes may be next in line and see an unusual surge in prices, calling on officials to tackle the problem before it even starts (watch, runtime: 0:25).

ELSEWHERE ON THE AIRWAVES- Suez Canal Authority (SCA) head Osama Rabie made the rounds to address concerns over the Suez Canal’s operations amidst brewing tensions in the Red Sea.

Don’t sweat Suez Canal revenues just yet: “The earnings from the Suez Canal are not in danger. The canal is still the safest and shortest way for vessels moving north or south,” he said during a phone-in with Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 3:02). “Just 2% of vessels have halted shipments through the Suez Canal. Vessels are still crossing the canal at higher-than-average rates,” Rabie told El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 13:57).

Also giving the story some airtime: Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 2:14), El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 2:08), and Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 9:15).

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