Egypt’s trade ministry extended on Thursday a tariff on the exports of fresh and frozen fish, the official gazette said.
The ministry had imposed a tariff of 12,000 Egyptian pounds ($680) per tonne for four months in April after a surge in fish exports that followed the currency float led to supply shortages and a rise in domestic prices locally.
Egypt’s central bank floated the pound currency in November as part of economic reforms tied to a three-year International Monetary Fund program aimed at reviving the economy.
The Egyptian pound lost half its value since the pound float in November, increasing appetite for Egyptian exports.
The decision does not apply to processed fish, such as smoked or canned fish, the official gazette said. It also does not apply to fish exports destined to be exported to European Union countries due to binding agreements, it added.
“The decision will apply for a year from the next day after it’s published,” the gazette said.
Egypt’s average fish production over the past three years was 1.5 million tonnes per year compared with a local demand of about 1.8 million tonnes annually.
