{"id":607509,"date":"2023-10-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/10\/04\/govt-action-to-stall-soaring-food-prices-may-be-in-sight\/"},"modified":"2023-10-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T00:00:00","slug":"govt-action-to-stall-soaring-food-prices-may-be-in-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/10\/04\/govt-action-to-stall-soaring-food-prices-may-be-in-sight\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov\u2019t action to stall soaring food prices may be in sight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends. We hope you\u2019ve had a fantastic week <\/strong>as we prepare to slide into a holiday long weekend here in Omm El Donia.<\/span><\/p>\n

EnterpriseAM is off tomorrow <\/strong> along with EnterprisePM, but we\u2019ll slide into your inboxes with our Enterprise Weekend Edition at 9am CLT. Enterprise Climate and Enterprise Logistics, which cover regional industries, will also publish tomorrow. We\u2019ll be back to our normal schedule on Sunday. <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s our last holiday of 2024 \u2014 make the most out of it, wonderful people. <\/strong>Also: Happy Thanksgiving (a couple of days early) to all of our Canadian friends.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE- <\/strong><\/p>\n

Emergency measures to curb food price inflation could be days <\/strong> away: <\/strong> The government will announce next week new measures aimed at putting a lid on the soaring prices of basic goods, cabinet said<\/a> yesterday. The statement didn\u2019t provide many clues about what rules will be put in place but said they will be coordinated by key ministers, the Central Bank of Egypt, manufacturers and traders. This came following a meeting between Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, central bank governor Hassan Abdalla, the supply, finance, trade ministers, and business representatives.<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re saying: <\/strong> \u201cWe will work together to ensure that there is an abundance of various commodities in the markets, which will contribute to lower prices, especially food commodities\u2026we will participate together in developing solutions that ensure a decrease in the prices of basic commodities,\u201d Madbouly said. Agreements will be made with various commercial chains, Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy added, with \u201cthe goal of making the consumer feel a real reduction in prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flooding the market: <\/strong> Authorities will try to control prices of nine basic commodities from next week, according to Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce secretary-general Alaa Ezz, who gave several interviews on the airwaves last night to discuss the plans. According to Ezz, large quantities of oil, sugar, rice, pasta, beans and dairy will be pumped into supermarkets in a bid to tamp-down prices, he said. <\/p>\n

Remember: <\/strong> Food price inflation is soaring at a record rate<\/a> on the back of a series of currency devaluations, the FX crunch, and a shortage of raw materials. Authorities have in recent days taken action to curb sugar prices<\/a>, and have banned onion exports<\/a> until the end of the year.<\/p>\n

IT\u2019S A BIG DAY FOR ENERGY NEWS- <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Egypt will resume LNG exports this month<\/strong>, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told Reuters<\/a> yesterday. <\/p>\n

Time + quantity TBA: <\/strong> \u201cWe are still arranging and preparing for that, quantities are not yet defined,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

We want to be a regional gas power: <\/strong> Egypt has moved to position itself as one of Europe\u2019s key energy partners \u2014 and we\u2019re looking to increase exports of Egyptian and Israeli gas<\/a> across the Mediterranean. <\/p>\n

But this has been hard this year: <\/strong> We have exported hardly any LNG<\/a> over the summer months due to higher domestic consumption and lower gas production. The seasonal spike in demand, combined with production falling to three-year lows<\/a>, has put pressure on the electricity grid, forcing the government to introduce rolling blackouts since July.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- Some good news on Egypt\u2019s green hydrogen front: <\/strong>Egypt will operate its first green hydrogen facility in 2026, an Electricity Ministry source confirmed to Enterprise Climate<\/a> yesterday. Trial stages at the unidentified facility are set to begin in mid-2025, our source said. The news was first reported by Youm7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aiming big: <\/strong>Egypt aims to produce up to 1.5 mn tons of green hydrogen per year by 2030 through 19 GW of generated energy from solar and wind projects. The country aims to raise production to 5.8 mn tons by 2040 from 72 GW of generated renewable energy. This would allow the export of 3.8 mn tons, which would account for 5% of the global green hydrogen market, according to Youm7\u2019ssource.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #3- OPEC+ meeting today: <\/strong>OPEC+ is expected to maintain oil production cuts<\/a> during today\u2019s meeting. Saudi Arabia and Russia\u2019s decision to extend oil production cuts<\/a> until the end of the year pushed oil prices to 10-month highs last month.<\/p>\n

The rally in the oil markets has lost some steam over the past couple of days <\/strong> as global markets respond to fears that US interest rates will remain high over the long term. Brent crude has fallen almost 7% over the past four sessions to hit its lowest level in three weeks.<\/p>\n

Also moving the energy markets: <\/strong><\/p>\n