A recession has hit Egypt's stationary market that not even the Back to school rush on study supplies has been able to ease, said Barakat Zaki, vice-chief of the stationary division of the Federation of Egyptian Chamber of Commerce.
As the beginning of the new school year approaches, a sharp price increase on stationary has led to a slump in trade and forced many stationers to close their businesses, leaving students who are looking to buy fresh school supplies in the lurch.
Members of the Federation's stationery division said that many items have seen a 50-100 percent rise in price since March; the combined result of steep customs charges and the surge of the US dollar against the Egyptian pound.
Sales on stationary, they said, have dropped to their lowest rates on record.
Osama Gaafar from the division said, “The price increase on some items exceeds 100 percent. The wholesale price for a pack of 144 imported pencils is now LE52, compared to LE19 last year, and the price of a dozen pens has gone up from LE8 to LE24.”
A basic school backpack — no more than LE40 previously — could now set you back anything from LE80 to LE1200, said Gaafar. The more upmarket ranges of school bags, which used to cost between LE100-200, are now being sold for LE200-400.
Gaafar blamed the stationary market crisis on the 45 percent rise of the dollar against the pound on the black market, in addition to a recent government decision to increase customs on stationery by 10 percent, pushing the average tax rate up to 30-40 percent. He also indicated that the tripartite committees formed by the customs authority to check the bills of stationery traders often increase the value of bills presented to them by traders by up to 400 percent.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
