URGENT: Egypt to keep subsidised bread price unchanged despite fuel increase

Egypt will keep the price of its subsidised baladi bread fixed at 20 piastres per loaf despite the government’s recent fuel price increase, the supply minister said on Tuesday, adding that the state will absorb the higher production costs.

Minister of Supply Sherif Farouk said the government had taken immediate steps to ensure that markets remain stable and that essential goods continue to reach consumers without disruption, while preserving the country’s extensive subsidy system.

“There will be no change to the price of subsidised baladi bread provided through ration cards,” Farouk said in a statement. “The price paid by citizens will remain at 20 piastres per loaf.”

The government will cover the higher production costs faced by bakeries that rely on diesel fuel, following the latest fuel price adjustments, he said.

Farouk said the additional cost to the state resulting from the fuel increase is estimated at about 1.6 billion Egyptian pounds a year, or roughly 134 million pounds a month, to be borne by the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), the government body responsible for securing strategic food supplies.

The minister also said that prices of subsidised food items distributed through Egypt’s ration card system would remain unchanged, with goods continuing to be supplied regularly through state distribution outlets and consumer complexes.

The ministry has established a central operations room at its headquarters to monitor markets and fuel supplies around the clock, coordinating with local supply offices across Egypt’s provinces to track commodity flows and distribution, he added.

The ministry will be monitoring fuel inventories at gas stations and liquefied petroleum gas depots and conducting field inspections to ensure supplies remain available and that distributors comply with official prices.

Farouk said regulators had been instructed to step up inspections of markets, bakeries and food retailers to prevent traders from exploiting the rise in fuel prices to impose unjustified increases.

He added that the ministry would take legal action against any violations and continue daily monitoring of markets to ensure that essential goods remain available to consumers across the country.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser