The Egyptian mobile phone market is facing a new wave of price increases, decided by several companies producing smartphones locally. In a press release published Friday, January 29, the Division of Mobile Phone Dealers of the Giza Chamber of Commerce announced varying increases between 5% and 15%, in a context marked by a strong recession in the sector.

According to the Division, these policies of pricing are set unilaterally by manufacturers, without consultation with distributors or retailers. A situation judged all the more worrying as it coincides with the current difficulties of market, characterized by a decline in demand and a significant drop sales.

The Division again called the authorities to remove the mobile phone from the list of luxury goods in the customs system. She believes that the smartphone is now a commodity essential, even strategic, in view of the almost total dependence on this tool, especially in the education system.

In detail, the Oppo company noted the prices of three of its models from 12% to 18%, while Honor has increased the prices of its tablets from 15% to 20%. In addition, retailers claim to have received notifications from other manufacturers announcing further increases in the coming days, hinting at a continuation of the uptrend.

Quoted in the press release, Mohamed Hedayat Al-Haddad, president of the Mobile Phone Dealers Division and member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of the Governorate of Giza, denounced incentives described as “fictitious”, which do not benefit neither to retailers nor to consumers. He points out that these companies nevertheless benefit from significant government incentives in the context of of the strategy to promote local production.

According to him, these pricing policies exploit the crises currently affecting the market, as well as the recent decision to remove the exemption granted to Egyptians working in abroad, which allowed them to introduce their telephones from outside. Mohamed Hedayat Al-Haddad finally questions the logic of this suppression, even though locally produced telephones display prices that are much higher than imported ones.