Egyptian Senate takes up price-rise and market-monitoring requests

Egypt's Senate is set to hold plenary sessions this week to discuss government policy on market monitoring, price rises, and strategic food security.

• Senate member Tamer Abdel Hamid presented a general discussion request seeking a review of government policy on market monitoring and price rises.
• Senate member Ismail Nasr El-Din demanded a clear plan to secure strategic commodity supplies, citing regional unrest affecting trade.
• Abdel Hamid cited the supply ministry's fixing of subsidized bread prices and raising of strategic reserves as measures needing evaluation.
• The Senate has scheduled plenary sessions for Monday and Tuesday to discuss market-control, food-security, and consumer-protection requests.
• Supply Minister Sherif Farouk told the Senate that Egypt's strategic reserve of essential goods is safe, covering needs for about six months.
• Farouk declined to disclose detailed stock figures, saying transparency must be balanced against protecting the state's negotiating position with suppliers.
• He announced plans to raise storage capacity to 4.4 million tonnes by 2026 and six million tonnes by 2030.
• Senate member Ihab Wahba demanded transparency on price-rise causes and asked about production costs, profit margins, and monopolistic practices.
• Senate Agriculture Committee deputy chair Gamal Abu al-Fotouh criticized recurring price crises and demanded an urgent plan to stabilize markets.
• Farouk said local wheat procurement reached about 5 million tonnes in the 2026 season, up from 4 million in 2025.
• He said the ministry's network includes about 40,000 outlets and 30,000 municipal bakeries serving 57.5 million beneficiaries monthly.
• Farouk said Egypt's sugar stocks cover domestic needs for more than a year, after earlier resorting to imports to secure supply.