Egypt starts EGP 400 ration card grant on 17 Feb

Egypt will begin disbursing an additional 400 Egyptian pounds monthly grant to eligible ration card holders from Tuesday, 17 February 2026, for two months, covering around 10 million cards at a total cost of about 8 billion Egyptian pounds.

The Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade said the decision was taken during an expanded meeting to finalise procedures for disbursing the March and April grants, with the March instalment to be made available from 17 February, in line with directives to provide a social protection package to the most vulnerable families ahead of Ramadan.

Minister Sherif Farouk said eligible citizens will receive an SMS confirming their entitlement alongside the bread voucher message. The grant, set at 400 Egyptian pounds per card per month, will benefit nearly 25 million citizens through about 40,000 outlets nationwide.

Each ration card will be entitled monthly to a maximum of four kilogrammes of sugar at 28 Egyptian pounds per kilogramme, three kilogrammes of rice at 24 Egyptian pounds per kilogramme, three bottles of oil at 48 or 54 Egyptian pounds depending on size, and six 350-gramme packs of pasta at 8.5 Egyptian pounds per pack.

Farouk also directed the swift disbursement of goods to outlets and the formation of a central operations room to ensure smooth implementation. The additional grant will be paid alongside the regular monthly ration subsidy.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English