Ministry of Supply & Internal Trade Announces the Formation of the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange
09/09/2020
Dr. Ali Al-Mesilahi,
Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, announced the formation of the Egyptian
Mercantile Exchange (EMX) as part of Egypt’s plan for the development of its
internal trading.
Al-Meselhi said the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange (EMX) will provide protection
for farmers and producers by collecting and classifying their commodities,
before having them available to all participants’ in a regulated market in a
way that contributes to increasing the competitiveness of small farmers and
producers. Small traders are encouraged to enter this regulated platform, which
will be reflect on the commodities' prices for the benefit of the consumer and
the producer.
The Egyptian Mercantile Exchange (EMX) is launched with a capital of EGP
91m distributed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), the Internal Trade Development
Authority (ITDA), the Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage (EHCSS),
the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), a number of commercial and
investment banks, the Misr Holding Company for Insurance, and the Misr for
Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR).
The Egyptian Mercantile Exchange’s Constituent Assembly held its first meeting
to discuss measures and procedures for the speedy activation of this
market.
Dr. Ibrahim Ashmawy, Chairman of EMX, said that this company will
establish an organized spot market for trading commodity. It will also manage
warehouses, in addition to contracting with existing licensed warehouses, and
establish and manage grain warehouses.
Adding that EMX aims to reduce trading rings between farmers and
producers to reach the hands of the consumer. The seller, whether a farmer,
trader or a producer, can deposit their commodities in the warehouses approved
by the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade after they have been classified.
With these protocols in place, there will be a good quality level of the
commodities provided directly on this platform. In this electronically
trading platform quantities of each available commodity will be disclosed on
EMX screens, which will control the supply and demand between the seller and
the buyer. This will in turn determine the price of those commodities in the
consumer's favor, which will reflect positively on commodity and product
prices.
Dr. Mohamed Farid, Executive Chairman of EGX, said that EMX is a
regulated spot trading market for commodities that can be stored. It is a pool
for all related parties to trade in an electronic, regulated platform.
The new market is also scheduled to start offering a number of basic products,
such as wheat, oil, sugar, and rice, as part of the first stage during the
first half of 2021.