The Minister of Investment, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, has received a report from the Food Industries Holding Company (FIHC) describing its plan to provide basic food commodities during this Eidul Fitr through 1,080 consumer outlets across the country.
These outlets belong to Al-Ahram for Consumer Outlets, Nile Company for Consumer Outlets, Alexandria Company for Consumer Outlets, Public Company for Wholesale Trade, El-Masreya Company for Wholesale Trade, the Egyptian Poultry and Meat Company and Egyptian Fish Marketing Company.
FIHC is to continue providing all food commodities during Eid such as sugar, 72 percent fine flour, different types of macaroni, white rice, starch, margarine and ghee and edible oil, in addition to reasonable amounts of fresh meat and imported meat.
Adequate amounts of fresh fish of all kinds such as tilapia, mullet, bream fish, fish fillet, smoked fish and shrimp have been provided, in addition to frozen fish like mackerel, mullet and brushtooth lizardfish.
A complete collection of cookies, petit fours and biscuits is available at all consumer outlet branches, affordable and of high quality.
FIHC has provided reasonable amounts of basic and seasonal commodities at prices 10-15 percent lower than market prices in order to maintain a quantitative and price balance in markets.
FIHC remains ready to inject additional amounts in case demand becomes higher for a certain commodity.
The plan of the holding company and its subsidiaries aims to provide people with basic and seasonal needs, in light of the consumption outlet development plan. Consumption outlets that directly deal with consumers are being developed according to a self-financing plan in several stages.
The first phase of development, including 332 consumption outlets nationwide, is expected to be completed by the end of 2010 at an investment cost of EGP 113 million. Some 237 consumption outlets have already been developed until now.
Each and every provincial center should have consumption outlets to provide people with different needs, especially basic commodities, Dr. Mohieldin said.
The FIHC has taken actions necessary to provide sites suitable for setting up such outlets in coordination with Governors. Some 112 locations have been allocated for setting up consumption outlets in provincial centers in Upper and Lower Egypt, in addition to the establishment of Kaha hypermarket whose foundation stone was laid on 21 July 2009 at Kaha Company for Preserved Foods, Cairo-Alexandria Agricultural Road, on an area of 3,000 square meters and an investment cost of EGP 35 million.
Furthermore, a commercial market was established on a 3,500 square meter area owned by the General Wholesale Company in Benha at a cost of EGP 30 million. Another hypermarket was established on the site of the Egyptian Company for Wholesale Trade in Qena.