Egypt's Minster of Supply called on the private sector to increase their imports of sugar, amidst the sharp shortage in the Egyptian market that was accompanied by an aggressive hike in retail prices, during a meeting attended by the President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and a number of executives from major retail chains, including Panda that is owned by Savola Group (2050.SE), Lulu, and Ragab Sons, according to a retail chain executive speaking to Al Mal. Furthermore, government officials said that the shortage and price hike had resulted from sugar importers halting their imports, on the back of higher global sugar prices, in addition to FX shortages. The government had announced earlier its plans to import 620k tonnes of raw sugar to address the market supply shortage. (Al Mal)