Egypt considers Chinese yuan for commodity trade

(ECNS) -- Egypt is considering the currencies of its commodity trade partners, including China, India and Russia to lessen the demand for dollars, Saudi-based Al Arabiya TV cited Egypt's Supply Minister Ali Moselhy as saying.

“We are very, very, very strongly considering to try and import from countries and approve (use of) their local currency with the Egyptian currency,” said Moselhy.

“This hasn’t happened yet but it’s a long journey that we’ve already made progress on, whether with China or India or Russia, but to this moment no deal has been made,” he added.

According to Al Arabiya, the dollar's decades-old dominance has been called into question in recent months as global oil traders have sought payments in currencies other than the dollar.

It says the shift has been driven by Western sanctions on Russia and in countries, such as Egypt, that have a shortage of dollars.

Egypt, a major buyer of basic commodities, has suffered a foreign currency crunch, resulting in its pound falling by nearly 50 percent against the dollar and imports have been suppressed, and this has pushed official headline inflation to 32.7 percent in March, shy of an all-time record.

Since 2023, some major economies, both in developed countries and emerging markets, have been striving to ditch the U.S. dollar by innovating cross-border payment and settlement mechanisms, signing bilateral currency agreements, and promoting the diversification of currencies.

Argentina would start paying for Chinese imports in yuan rather than U.S. dollars, the government announced on April 26, and on April 1, India and Malaysia agreed to use Indian Rupee for trade.

“The dollar is facing a challenge to its status on multiple fronts,” said U.S. media outlet Business Insider, citing an analysis by Deutsche Bank.

The rejection of the dollar in global economic relations is an irreversible process explained in particular by its use as an instrument of pressure for other countries, observer and geopolitical expert Renaud Girard said in his op-ed in Le Figaro.

"The U.S. often turns a blind eye to the United Nations charter and imposes unilateral embargoes and threatens other nations to follow suit. This ironfisted approach has made the U.S. the top sanctions-imposing nation in the world," Turkish media outlet TRT World said in a report released at the beginning of April.