The value of imported herring has sharply droppped, reaching around LE77 million between January and February, compared to around LE418 million during the same period in 2014.
A report issued on Thursday by the General Organization for Export & Import Control said that the largest amounts of herring fish came from Netherlands reaching around LE67.2 million. Norway came in the second place with LE1.7 million, compared to LE30 million in 2014.
Imports from Ireland reached LE300,000 in 2015, compared to LE2.8 million in 2014, the report said, adding that importing from Greece, Canada and Russia stopped.
Mokhtar al-Gamal, head of fish division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, said that the measures imposed by the Central Bank of Egypt on circulation of foreign currency caused the decline in imports of herring this year.
Price of herring reached between LE18-35 this year, while prices of luxurious types of herring reached around LE120 per kilo.
The number of herring factories in Egypt are estimated at around 700 factories.
