Wheat stocks at local flour mills are being rapidly depleted due to a countrywide truck drivers’ strike–now in its 13th day–because no fresh supplies can be transported from the nation's seaports, according to the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI).
Local pasta manufacturers, meanwhile, have also warned the FEI that their flour stocks stood on the verge of depletion.
On Tuesday, local transport associations announced that they had temporarily suspended the strike after the government had agreed to meet their demands. Drivers in several cities, however, maintained the strike, ten of whom were arrested in Sharqiya.
Transportation Minister Alaa Fahmy has reportedly ordered his staff to resolve the problem as soon as possible.
On Wednesday, transport association officials began negotiations with the ministries of finance, trade and the interior in an effort to reach a final solution regarding a proposed increase in licensing fees for truck drivers.
Translated fom the Arabic Edition.
