CAIRO - 29 May 2024: Egypt will increase the price of subsidized bread from 5 piasters to 20 piasters starting next June, Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, announced today during a press conference.
This marks the first price increase in 30 years.The government's cost for producing a loaf of bread is currently 125 piasters.
Egypt subsidizes each loaf of bread with 105 piasters, which means that the state will bear about LE 105 billion annually.
Egypt, being the largest wheat importer globally, operates a massive food subsidy program that provides subsidized bread to over 70 million residents.
Prime Minister Madbouly recently emphasized the program's scale, revealing that Egypt produces approximately 100 billion loaves annually, each sold for a mere 5 piasters.
Consequently, the state revenue from bread sales amounts to a meager LE 5 billion. Additionally, Egypt has allocated over LE 100 billion Egyptian to support bread subsidies.
In April, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Ali Al-Moselhi, disclosed the official prices for tourist bread, as follows: 150 piasters for an 80-gram loaf, 75 piasters for a 40-gram loaf, and 50 piasters for a 25-gram loaf.
It is important to note that in Egypt, there are two types of bread. The first is tourist bread, which lacks official regulation and allows individual bakeries to sell loaves of varying weights and set prices at their discretion.
Factors influencing the pricing of tourist bread include the type of flour used and the economic status of customers.
The second type is subsidized bread, which is sold at a fixed price and weight and can only be obtained through government-issued bread ration cards.
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