Egypt hikes gas prices for fertilizer plants amid global energy crunch

The government has raised the price of gas supplied to fertilizer plants to $8.5 per million British thermal units as global prices climb, Industry Minister Khaled Hashem said, according to Asharq Business.

The increase is about 21% above the current price charged to fertilizer plants, which ranges from $7 to $7.8 per million British thermal units, Asharq said.

In an earlier report by Al Manassa, sources in the fertilizer sector said factories had gradually raised product prices over the past month by as much as 3,000 Egyptian pounds ($56) per ton, in anticipation any increase in natural gas prices or reduction in supply volumes under government efforts to curb consumption amid the current global energy crisis.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of a visit Thursday to steel plants in Suez and Ain Sokhna, Hashem said the ministry is not considering raising energy prices for all factories and that any such move for a specific industry would only come after a technical and economic impact assessment.

A government source previously told Al Manassa that the current energy-saving plan would reduce oil and gas consumption by only 5%, and that it would be more effective if energy prices were raised for energy-intensive industries.