Egypt adopted extraordinary measures to lift restrictions on investors and importers and to facilitate the release of imports, in order to stop prices from rising further.

Hard currency is a challenge for Egyptian importers to supply, which promotes the release of products and commodities that have stockpiled at Egyptian ports, reducing the availability of goods and merchandise on the market and driving up costs.

Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a press statement that any shipments that completed customs procedures would be released after submitting their import financing form in coordination with the Central Bank and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Maait claimed that in order to prevent the buildup of cargo at harbours, the regulations were developed in consultation with the Central Bank, the ministries of transportation, trade, and industry, the shipping chamber, and shipping agents.

He added that shipping agencies would be allowed to transfer imported goods from ports to warehouses and dry docks outside the customs ports in the name of shipping agencies or importers following the established procedures.

At order to safeguard their rights and reduce the additional costs associated with keeping goods in ports; shipping companies must first execute a "Delivery Order" before the Customs Authority will release cargo under importers' names outside of customs terminals.

The minister said that the importation deadlines for food had been extended by four months to account for the expiration date and by six months for non-food items to allow for the completion of the necessary paperwork from the relevant authorities.