A group of Egyptian importers, represented by the Federation of Egyptian Chamber of Commerce (FECC), the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), and Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (EBA), have sent a letter to the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly objecting the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) decision regarding collection documents.
Under the CBE’s new directions, importers’ collection documents will not be accepted by banks.
The CBE also dictates that importers must present letters of credit for them to be able to buy goods. A policy that will be effective as of the beginning of March.
Heads of the FECC, the FEI, and the EBA pleaded for the reversion of such policy, arguing that it will aggravate the supply chain crisis and raise production costs, which will increase prices of goods in the local market.
They also said that the new policy will have a negative impact on the competitiveness of Egyptian exports.
The new policy will also affect Egyptians’ health by its negative impact on the supplies of the pharmaceuticals industry, heads of the FECC, the FEI, and the EBA noted in their letter to the prime minister.
It is worth noting that the new CBE policy requires importers to present a set of documents to banks for their transactions.
The CBE will exempt branches of foreign companies and their subsidiaries from its new decision, which comes within the context of the Egyptian Cabinet’s directives regarding the governance of import operations and the activation of the system of pre-registration of shipments.
