Cairo – Mubasher: Misr National Steel (Ataqa) said that the decision to impose fees on imported iron billets and steel rebar will increase the cost of production by 16%, according to a bourse disclosure on Monday.

Previously, the Egyptian minister of trade and industry decided to levy a 25% duty on steel rebar and a 16% duty on iron billets for the next three years.

It is noteworthy that during the first half of 2019, Ataqa incurred net losses of EGP 629,920, versus a net profit of EGP 153.08 million in H1-18.