The Egyptian government has reduced the weight of a subsidised loaf of bread from 110 grams to 90 grams, which is a more than 18 per cent reduction. This decision comes in light of the government’s plan to gradually liberalise subsidies from the food supply and subsidised bread systems.

About 71 million citizens benefit from the government support system, restricted to 22 million ration cards, with support amounting to EGP 48.5 billion in the current public budget. The decision set the cost of producing subsidised flour sacks at EGP 265 ($16.64) for bakeries that use diesel in the production process, and EGP 283 ($17.77) for bakeries that use natural gas, as part of a review of the cost of producing a loaf of bread due to the high prices.

Although the decision included (formally) fixing the price of a loaf of bread for citizens at five piasters for the recipient of the subsidy, the quantity of bread was reduced. The decision means that the citizen will need to buy more to meet his needs. This decision comes a few hours after the Metro Company announced an increase in ticket prices for all three lines.