The Secretary-General of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, Alaa Ezz, announced that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) food price index fell 8.6%, the fourth month in a row.
He explained that the index fell below the level before the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, recording the lowest level since January 2022, but it is still higher than it was in the same period in 2021 by 13.1%, and the decline is expected to continue. in the coming months to approach the prices of last year.
Ezz pointed out that with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi issued proactive instructions to increase storage capacity and increase strategic stocks of food and oil products from 3 to 6-9 months, which helped Egypt overcome the global crisis during which prices rose. to unimaginable numbers, the world is watching and saved Egypt billions by reducing imports during that period so that we can start offsetting what is consumed now at much lower prices, especially since Egypt imports over 50% of food and the same percentage of production needs.
Ezz explained that huge grain silos and giant tanks for oils and petroleum products have been created, in addition to expanding agriculture to grow major crops through the reclamation of one and a half million acres, in addition to horizontal expansion to increase per capita productivity. acre
Source: Al-Masri Al-Youm.