A man has his temperature checked before visiting an exhibition of school supplies in Cairo, Egypt, on Sept. 21, 2020. In an attempt to relieve the burdens of parents ahead of the upcoming new school year, the Egyptian government has recently launched an initiative to hold exhibitions across the country to sell school supplies at low prices. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CAIRO, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- In an attempt to relieve the burdens of parents ahead of the upcoming new school year, the Egyptian government has recently launched an initiative to hold exhibitions across the country to sell school supplies at low prices.
Dubbed Welcome to Schools, the initiative, which is supervised by the Egyptian Ministry of Supply, started on Sept. 20 and will run until Sept. 27 as Egypt postponed the new school year to Oct. 17 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The one-week initiative covers 12 provinces with 19 exhibitions.
"The discounts here are up to 50 percent ... The quality of goods and items are really good," Yosriya Ahmed, an Egyptian mother in her 40s, told Xinhua while shopping at the initiative's largest exhibition in the capital Cairo.
The mother of three children, all in primary schools, said the exhibition is a great chance for families, especially those with low incomes.
"The good thing is that the exhibitors are either local manufacturers or importers, which helps us buy items at the cheapest prices," Ahmed said, adding discounts start from 20 percent.
Held at the Cairo International Conference Center, the exhibition brings some 300 companies that sell stationery, school bags, school uniforms, shoes, computers and food products.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the exhibition in Cairo, Egyptian Minister of Supply Ali Moselhy said his ministry is keen to open more similar exhibitions to ease the financial burdens on low-income families, especially those who have been negatively affected by the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea said the resumption of internal exhibition activities after a six-month halt over the spread of the coronavirus is an excellent opportunity for both producers and consumers.
She noted the government is keen to maximize the value of Egyptian high-quality competitive products in order to contribute to strengthening the national industry as one of the main pillars of the economy.
Mohammed Hassan, a representative of an Egyptian company that manufactures bags, said his company is keen to participate in governmental initiatives that aim at helping citizens.
"We produce high-quality products and sell them in such exhibitions at cost prices in order to alleviate the financial burdens for families," he told Xinhua.
"This year, we gave more discounts because the coronavirus has affected most of the Egyptians ... It is a duty to stand by our people under such circumstances," Hassan pointed out.
