Egypt To Cut Prices Of Food Sold In Government Outlets

The Egyptian government will cut the prices of food items sold in its outlets in the first ten days of October on occasion of the Islamic Adha feast, a statement by the Ministry of Investment said on Saturday.

The cuts will range between ten and 15 percent on sugar, flour, rice among other food items sold by the government.

The government will also implement cuts in the prices of inter-governorate transportation services offered by the Holding Company For Maritime and Land Transport. The company offers bus services through its East Delta, West Delta, and Upper Egypt lines.

The ministry said the ticket cuts, whose amount was not specified, will last for three months – the duration of the school term – set to start on 21 September.

Over the past ten days, Egyptian news outlets, including those owned by the state, have highlighted the sharp rise in consumer prices. This coincided with the announcement of the country’s annual urban inflation rate, which reached to 9.7 percent in the twelve months to August 2013.

Last week, the government approved the exemption of all students in Arabic-only public schools from paying tuition fees for the coming school year.

The depreciation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar by around 11 percent since the beginning of 2013 has taken its toll on consumer prices, given that Egypt is both a net importer of fuel and food.

Source: Ahram Online