Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy will be meeting with food producers and distributors next week to negotiate ways to keep shipping and transport costs low. This comes as the Interior Ministry is reportedly leading its own price control initiative to help keep commodity prices low in light of the government’s recent hike in fuel prices, Al Shorouk reports. Members of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce met yesterday with the head of the ministry’s Commodities Investigation Unit to discuss ways to hold back inflation.

On a related note, the government will not be raising med prices again this year, Health Minister Ahmed Rady tells Al Borsa. It’s unclear whether the minister is referring to the fiscal year or calendar year of 2017. Pharma companies have been haggling for a sitdown with Rady to discuss further hikes to med prices, following the 30-50% increase instituted in January, under which they had been promised a second hike in August, says Gamal El Leithy, a member of the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ pharma division.