Egypt released imported goods valued at more than $8 billion since the devaluation of the Egyptian pound in March, according to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Finance released on Friday.
This move came after the Central Bank of Egypt allowed the pound to depreciate for the first time in over 14 months, a decision followed by a surprise interest rate hike of approximately 600 basis points during an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday.
These financial maneuvers have facilitated the availability of dollar resources in the country. It was announced that Egypt had secured financial commitments exceeding $50 billion to bolster its economy.
This includes an increase in the country’s loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to $8 billion, of which Egypt has already received an $820 million installment.
Following these developments, Egypt signed its largest foreign direct investment deal with the UAE, with ADQ acquiring development rights for the Ras Al-Hikma project for $35 billion aimed at developing the area, from which Egypt has already received $10 billion.
As a result, the net foreign reserves of the Central Bank of Egypt surged by approximately $5 billion to $40.36 billion by the end of March from $35.51 billion in February.
Finance Minister Mohamed Maait stated that there are sufficient dollar resources to cover the needs of importers for the release of their goods at the ports. However, he noted that “some importers have refrained from releasing their shipments without any legal justification.”
The accumulation of goods in ports was a symptom of the dollar shortage in the Egyptian market, contributing to the scarcity of some commodities in the market over the past two years, which in turn led to significant price increases.
At the time of the currency liberalization, the total value of goods stacked in Egyptian ports was about $6 billion, including petroleum products, according to Shahaat Ghatwary, head of the Customs Authority, in a statement to Al-Sharq.
