Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Monday that banks will help secure the necessary dollars to clear a backlog of imports, which is estimated to be above $5 billion in December, within four days.
President Sisi’s remarks, during a nationally televised event, offered a potential end date for an overhang in commodities that’s helped fuel demand for the greenback on the black market.
Speaking at the same event, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that around $5 billion worth of commodities had been released from the ports between the 1st and 23rd of December and another $9.5 billion in goods remain at the docks.
Egyptian authorities have been working to clear an import backlog amid a build-up of goods at ports due to a letter of credit requirement imposed earlier by the central bank but which the government has vowed to lift soon. President Sisi’s comments come amid expectations of another devaluation in the pound following two earlier ones this year, said a Bloomberg report.
The International Monetary Fund had repeatedly urged authorities to embrace greater flexibility in the exchange rate — a step that helped Egypt secure a $3 billion package from the Washington-based lender.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $3 billion loan for Egypt and the support package will introduce wide-sweeping economic reforms. IMF officials said that they expect the North African country to switch to a flexible exchange rate after a requirement to finance imports through letters of credit is phased out at the end of December.
