Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, said the state will not allow any manipulation of the prices of essential goods or the deliberate withholding of them from the market, stressing the need to safeguard market stability and protect consumers.
Madbouly made the remarks during a meeting on Sunday with Mahmoud Momtaz, head of the Egyptian Competition Authority, to review several of the authority’s work files.
At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of the authority’s role in supporting the state’s efforts to monitor any monopolistic attempts or practices during the current period and deal with them firmly, as well as confronting any efforts to deviate from the path of competitive neutrality.
He stressed that the state will not tolerate attempts to manipulate the prices of essential goods or deliberately withhold them from the market in order to create artificial shortages or drive up prices. This is particularly important in light of current regional circumstances and their economic repercussions, which make it necessary to maintain the stability of the domestic market, secure citizens’ needs for strategic commodities, and prevent the exploitation of these challenges through practices that harm the national economy and Egyptian consumers.
Madbouly also highlighted the importance of coordinated efforts by all relevant ministries and government bodies to implement directives issued by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to tighten market oversight and hold manipulators accountable.
He further directed that work be accelerated to activate the pillars of the Egyptian Competition Authority’s National Strategy for 2026-2030, particularly with regard to the effective enforcement of competition law and the development of early monitoring mechanisms to detect harmful market practices.
Madbouly noted that the current phase requires joint efforts to entrench the principles of fair competition in a way that supports the investment climate and provides an attractive economic environment, ultimately improving the quality of goods and services available to Egyptian consumers.
During the meeting, Momtaz said the authority had succeeded in developing and launching the Competitive Neutrality Index, a quantitative tool designed to identify obstacles and measure competitive neutrality across various sectors.
He explained that the index is based on a scientific methodology involving several stages, beginning with surveys of stakeholders to assess the actual situation in different markets. This is complemented by an objective evaluation of regulatory frameworks conducted by the authority’s Competition Policy Department, with the aim of providing a comprehensive assessment of market neutrality and equality of opportunity.
The head of the authority reviewed the results achieved in a number of vital sectors under existing regulatory frameworks, including the pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and sugar sectors.
He noted that the assessments were based on four main pillars: regulatory neutrality, tax neutrality, indebtedness, and public procurement. These indicators aim to ensure that there is no discrimination or administrative burden that could hinder companies’ entry into markets or their expansion within them, in line with the state’s strategy to strengthen competitive neutrality.
In a related context, Momtaz stressed the importance of the public’s role in supporting the authority’s work, calling on citizens to report any monopolistic practices or violations that harm consumers’ rights by contacting the authority through its hotline (15157). This, he said, would help ensure a swift response and the application of deterrent legal measures against violators.
