Fuel price hikes dominated the airwaves last night, following the government’s latest move to raise prices at the pump. Oil Ministry spokesperson Moataz Atef told Lamees El Hadidi on Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 10:09) that the decision factored in global oil prices, import ratios, production costs, and the exchange rate.

The hike will be felt by transport costs, which are set for 8-9.5% increase, Alexandria Chamber of Commerce’s land transport division head Mansour El Breik told El Hadidi over the phone (watch, runtime: 4:04).

But the impact on home appliances is expected to be limited, Federation of Egyptian Industries’ electrical appliances division head Hassan Mabrouk told El Hadidi, describing any forthcoming price increase as “very minimal” (watch, runtime: 2:46).

But even with the increase in fuel prices, some goods including eggs and poultry are getting cheaper, Poultry Producers Union Vice Chairman Tharwat El Zeiny told El Hadidi in a phone interview (watch, runtime: 5:01). El Zeiny attributed the decline in prices to improved supply.

Unsubsidized bread prices are expected to rise 25%, Bakeries Division head Abdullah Ghorab told Ala Masouleety’s Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 6:19). However, the price of subsidized bread will remain unchanged, Supply Ministry undersecretary Nasser Thabet told Azza Moustafa on her show Al Sa’aa Al Sadesa’ (watch, runtime: 7:33).

Atef also reiterated the government’s position that there will be no power outages next sumer, a message that had was conveyed on Thursday during Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s most recent presser (watch, runtime: 1:06)

It wasn’t just Lamees who covered the price hike, as the the topic got airtime across the networks, including on Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 4:03), Ala Masouleety (watch, runtime: 2:19), and El Hekayah (watch, runtime: 5:24).

ALSO ON THE AIRWAVES- “We could lose part of our market share in Europe, because Asian [companies] will run to Europe to escape the pressure of the US tariffs,” Turkish-Egyptian clothing manufacturing firm T&C Garments Chairman Magdy Tolba told Cairo Weekend’s Zeina Soufan (watch, runtime: 16:04). Tolba explained that Egypt’s status quo can’t afford to be more competitive than Europe in regards to attracting Asian investors, therefore, “we must work really hard” on boosting our exports to US markets, Tolba added. He outlined what needs to be done in three points; “expanding our capacity, upgrading our industries, and adjusting trade agreements,” Tolba said, referring to Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) agreement’s 10.5% Israeli-component requirement, which the government has been long negotiating with the US for a lower percentage.

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