Egyptian rebar mills keep prices unchanged for July despite tax hike

Friday, 02 July 2010 16:23:21 (GMT+2)

Egyptian steelmakers have announced that they have kept their rebar prices unchanged for July, despite the increase in the sales tax - i.e., eight percent instead of five percent - that will be applied as of the beginning of the month of July, according to a report released by Arab Steel.

According to the report, the ex-works rebar prices for July including the new tax rate stands at EGP 3,550 ($623/mt) for Ezz Steel, EGP 3,500 ($614/mt) for Beshay Steel, and EGP 3,400-3,450 ($597-606/mt) for other companies. The price increase due to the sales tax is estimated to be around EGP 100/mt ($18/mt).

This move has come in response to poor demand, coupled with large amounts of imported rebar, an issue that has driven the Metal Industries Chamber of the Industrial Union to demand a stop to imports. The head of the chamber, Muhammad Hanafi, stated, "The supply of rebar is larger than demand," adding, "Stocks in local mills now amount to 1.5 million metric tons in addition to more than 300,000 in the warehouses of the distributors." Mr Hanafi also anticipated that Turkish imports would make a strong return to the Egyptian market, since, as he said, "Turkish rebar is sold to traders at a price lower than local material by around EGP 200/mt ($35/mt)."

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