Egyptian authorities raided and confiscated the sugar supply of the Edita Company on Thursday and Saturday, causing production to halt amid a market-shortage and rapid price hikes, the company's chairman said on Sunday.
The authorities seized around 2,000 tonnes of sugar that would have been used over the next three weeks in the company's production of pastries, cakes and snacks, Chairman Hani Berzi told news host Lamees El-Hadidy on CBC TV channel.
The company is currently being investigated by the authorities, Berzi added. Senior officials, meanwhile, overruled a prosecution decision to take the sugar and resell it to the public.
Berzi said Edita has been sourcing its sugar supply from a credible supplier for the past four years.
"What crime have we committed in storing sugar—a main raw ingredient in our production?" Berzi stated.
The seized sugar is currently being held in Edita's storage in Beni Sueif, under security protection.
Edita is the largest listed company in the food sector of the Egyptian Stock Exchange. Both Edita and Juhayna, the second largest company in the stock exchange's food sector, plunged during Monday's midday trading by 4.85 percent (EGP 7.79 per share) and 8.50 percent (EGP 3.70 per share) respectively.
The country has been facing a sugar scarcity due to an acute dollar shortage, resulting in a price hike in unsubsidized sugar that’s reached EGP 9-10 per kg, up from EGP 4.5-6 per kg in August.
