Egypt: The Shura Council's housing committee, in Egypt's upper house of parliament, has suggested imposing mandatory pricing for the country's cement firms. The move follows recent rises in cement price of up to 25%.
"The Egyptian Competition Authority will be tasked with setting the price if the government approves the Shura Council's recommendation," said Atef Yacub, the head of Egypt's Consumer Protection Agency, to Al Ahramonline. He explained that the 'unjustified increase in cement prices' is the main reason behind the suggestion of the mandatory pricing. Yacub dismissed suggestions that energy price rises were solely responsible for the rises in overall cement prices.
In February 2013 the Egyptian government said that the price of fuel oil, which is widely used in energy-intensive local industries such as cement, would be increased by 50% to US$220/t.