- Egypt’s Ministry of Finance raised the price of the customs dollar to 19.31 pounds for September, up from 19.19 pounds last August, according to data released today by the Customs Authority’s official website. This is the highest increase thus far.
The customs set the price of the customs dollar at 16 pounds for the entire month of April, following a drop in the price of the pound against the dollar in March, in a correction move in the exchange rate that had remained stable for a long time.
Following that, the Ministry of Finance gradually increased the price of the customs dollar, but in its most recent decision, it increased its value to surpass the dollar in banks for the first time.
Last April, Egyptian banks approved new guidelines to prevent the acceptance of foreign exchange resources from unknown sources or obtained from exchange companies in import operations.
The customs dollar reflects the dollar price against the pound that customs authorities use to calculate customs duties based on the value of imported goods.
Egypt’s commodity prices are heavily influenced by the fall in the value of the pound against the dollar, as the country relies on imports to meet its needs for food, energy, and modern technology. Egypt imports various commodities, mostly food, worth approximately $78 billion per year.
