- The meeting included consultations on further enhancing the role of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange as a mechanism to enhance transparency and governance in the trading of essential commodities, contributing to market stability.
- Dr. Mohamed Fared Saleh stated:
- Consultations are underway to begin automating and regulating the trading of sugar, billet, and cotton through the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange.
- MIFT is leading the implementation of an ambitious plan to digitize the foreign trade system to support evidence-based decision-making and contribute to stabilizing essential commodity markets.
- Dr. Sherif Farouk stated:
- Activating the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange change will enhance the efficiency of managing the strategic stock of essential commodities.
- The expertise of MIFT will support the launch of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange, which has received strong political leadership attention.
- Mr. Alaa Farouk stated:
- Full coordination is underway to launch an integrated system ensuring that essential commodities reach consumers efficiently and fairly.
- Significant efforts have been made to prepare for the new launch of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange in line with the leadership’s directives.
- Dr. Bahaa El-Ghannam stated:
- This is a strategic file at a highly important time amid global supply-chain challenges.
- The scale of commodity trade in Egypt is substantial and requires a well-governed and transparent system to manage these flows.
- A new phase at MIFT is expected to deliver major progress across multiple files.
In a strategic step reflecting the alignment of State institutions to implement the leadership’s vision, and in light of the directives of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to strengthen the food security system and regulate essential commodity markets, Dr. Mohamed Fared Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT Minister), held a high-level meeting with Dr. Sherif Farouk, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade; Mr. Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation; and Dr. Bahaa El-Ghannam, Executive Director of the Future of Egypt Authority for Sustainable Development, in the presence of Dr. Zakaria Hamza, CEO of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange.
The meeting focused on aligning policies and efforts to further enhancing the role of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange as a key tool to automate and govern procedures and trading of a number of essential commodities, in cooperation with relevant ministries and entities. This will enhance price stability, reinforce transparency and discipline, and keep pace with global transformations in trade and supply-chain management.
MIFT Minister started the meeting by emphasizing that the current phase requires full coordination among State institutions, noting that MIFT is working on comprehensive automation and modernization of the trade system to enable data-driven decision-making and support Egyptian exports’ access to global markets.
Moreover, he stressed that the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange is an important mechanism for organizing the trading of essential commodities, noting that efforts go beyond listing commodities to include establishing regulatory frameworks governing their trading.
Dr. Fared reviewed MIFT’s strategy to digitize and automate all trade-related files, announcing the start of active work to study a number of essential commodities—including sugar, cotton, and billet—to achieve a balance between confidentiality and transparency and provide a precise mechanism for market regulation and data-driven decision-making that supports and protects national industry from volatility.
This integrated government move aligns with the Presidency’s directives. H.E President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stressed during his recent meeting with the government the need to utilize all State mechanisms to regulate markets, prevent monopolistic practices and speculation, ensure price stability, and secure the availability of essential goods.
Furthermore, H.E President El-Sisi directed strengthening partnerships with the private sector, attracting foreign investment in retail and commercial chains, expanding the use of modern technologies in production and distribution, tightening oversight of commodity trading systems, and ensuring that subsidies reach eligible beneficiaries efficiently and fairly.
On his part, Dr. Sherif Farouk, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, affirmed that work is being carried out in a spirit of teamwork among all entities, noting that the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange represents a long-awaited milestone that has received strong political leadership attention and has been presented to the President.
Dr. Sherif explained that activating the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange will enhance the efficiency of managing the strategic reserves of essential commodities, including wheat, rice, oil, and meat, which are currently available at reassuring levels supporting market stability.
He added that MIFT’s contribution to launching the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange will strengthen its anticipated launch, given its extensive experience in capital markets, including the Egyptian Exchange and the Financial Regulatory Authority.
In the same context, Mr. Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, stressed the importance of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange in relation to food security and price control, affirming full coordination among relevant entities to launch an integrated system ensuring efficient and fair delivery of goods from producers to consumers.
The Minister of Agriculture highlighted the significant efforts made to prepare for the new launch of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange in line with the leadership’s directives.
Dr. Bahaa El-Ghannam, Executive Director of the Future of Egypt Authority for Sustainable Development, emphasized that developing the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange comes at a critical time amid global supply-chain challenges, noting that Egypt’s commodity trade exceeds USD 50 billion annually, which necessitates a well-organized system to manage these flows.
In addition, Dr. Bahaa announced the preparation of a draft law to regulate the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange in cooperation with relevant entities and ministries present at the meeting, to enhance foreign currency inflows, curb monopolistic practices, and provide fair marketing channels for small producers and farmers.
El-Ghannam concluded by noting that a new phase at MIFT is expected to deliver rapid progress across multiple files, highlighting the fruitful cooperation among government entities to ensure a strong launch of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange
