Cairo: Egypt’s commodities exchange has invited companies to register for sugar trading on the market. The exchange already facilitates the trading of yellow corn and wheat, according to marketscreener.
Starting Thursday, the exchange will include sugar among its offerings, announced Ibrahim Ashmawy, the head of the exchange. This step aligns with a government directive aimed at “regulating the markets of strategic and basic commodities.”
Being a significant purchaser of essential goods, Egypt has been grappling with a shortage of foreign currency, leading to a nearly 50% depreciation of the pound against the dollar. This situation has curtailed imports and led to a surge in official headline inflation.
The country has assured that it holds strategic sugar reserves to meet consumption needs until spring 2024. Egypt has also sought to import raw sugar through the Egyptian Sugar and Integrated Industries Company (ESIIC). In a recent international tender that closed on August 5, ESIIC is believed to have secured around 50,000 metric tons of raw sugar.
