Egypt's cabinet denied on Tuesday raising the prices of local cigarettes and imported tobacco products, pointing out that increasing the exchange rate of the US dollar for customs will only be imposed on imported cigarettes.

In a report, the cabinet confirmed that the Ministry of Finance dismissed all news concerning raising prices of local cigarettes.

The Finance ministry also stressed that no new taxes will be imposed on the local cigarettes and imported tobacco products.

It has confirmed that changing the customs dollar aims to protect the domestic industry.

On Friday, Minister of Finance Mohamed Mait said that luxury goods (including some types of fish, wines and pet food), products exempted from customs taxes, imports that have local alternatives, and a range of other selected imports will be subjected to the exchange rate announced by the central bank.

The commercial rate has remained steady over recent months, with the Egyptian pound trading at around 17.8 to the dollar on Thursday.