The Egyptian government must intervene to solve rising cigarette prices in the market, the head of the Tobacco Division at the Federation of Industries Ibrahim Embaby said.
During a telephone conversation on Thursday with TV presenter Mohamed Ali Khair on the “Al-Masry Effendi” program, he explained that the finance minister seeks to obtain 86.9 percent from the smoking products sector in order to spend on education, health and other sectors.
Embaby said he met with some officials and discussed matters regarding the state treasury, producing companies as well as preserving consumer rights.
He agreed with officials to raise the tax on cigarettes by half a pound, pointing out that the large increases in cigarette prices has nothing to do with the Egyptian government but from merchants benefiting from the current economic situation.
The current production of smoking products covers the market, but will not continue due to insufficient dollar sources to import raw materials, he said, calling for the need to save dollars in order to resolve the current market crisis.
Embaby also criticized the decision of the head of the Parliament’s Plan and Budget Committee to postpone the tax amendment to next October, which contributed to a three-fold increase in cigarette prices.
He warned that there is now a black market that raises prices in an unimaginable way.
Embaby warned in June that market traders across Egypt have been found to be illegally manipulating the pricing for cigarette packs.
He added that this has created a black market for cigarettes, and warned that the matter must be stamped out at once.
The problem is also aggravated with the weak supervision of the markets, leading merchants to stockpile large quantities of cigarettes, he said.
