Egypt's government has formed a cabinet-level committee that will determine how much profit can be made from the sale of essential goods, but will not set prices, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Wednesday. The committee will "devise the proper mechanisms" for setting profit margins for sales of basic goods and products both local and imported, the government said in a decree signed by the prime minister and seen by Reuters. Ismail, talking to reporters on Wednesday, denied media reports that the government planned to set prices of basic goods. The committee would only set profit margins on sales, he said. One trader said Ismail's distinction between profit margins and price setting may be semantic.

Source: Egypt Independent October 19, 2016 19:41 UTC