The post-EGP float economy continued to dominate the conversation on the airwaves last night, with the nation’s talking heads continuing to play down the prospects of rising prices and shortages in the wake of the EGP’s 22% plunge against the greenback. Kelma Akhira’s Lamis El Hadidi called for patience and urged citizens to wait for a month as authorities try to get prices under control until the USD price against the EGP stabilizes (watch, runtime: 1:21) while several government officials made appearances to explain what the state is doing to minimize hardship caused by the float.

Among them was Ahmed El Attar, head of the Agriculture Ministry’s quarantine authority, who returned for the second night running to try to calm fears of food shortages and rising prices (watch, runtime: 6:07). He described the ongoing shortage of feed as a “temporary crisis” and said it will be resolved in a few weeks. Thousands of tons of corn and soybeans have been released from ports in the past five days, he said. He reiterated that a slowdown of Ukrainian grain exports won’t threaten Egypt’s food security, though admitted that Russia’s exit from the export pact will likely cause global food prices to spike.

Also making appearances last night:

• Abdel Aziz Al Sayed, head of the Poultry Division in the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, told Al Hadath Al Youm (watch, runtime: 1:29) and Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 6:04) that further releases of feed from ports will help to bring prices down.
• Emad El Qenawy, head of the importers division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), said that banks have begun phoning importers to provide them with USD for imports (watch, runtime: 5:05). However, he warned that the latest hike in interest rates will tighten financial conditions and weigh on purchasing power. He urged policymakers to introduce banking initiatives that include debt restructuring for struggling manufacturers and importers.
• Mahmoud Al Daour, former head of the Clothing Division, who said that prices of winter clothes have climbed 40% due to the devaluation in March (watch, runtime: 12:28)

We’re getting a new emergency services hotline: Citizens in certain governorates can now dial a single number — 112 — to request a range of emergency services including medical treatment, the police and the fire department. The new hotline is currently in use in Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, South Sinai, Luxor and Aswan governorates, and will be rolled out to the rest of the country next year, Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar told El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 7:34).