Egypt raises bread price for 1st time in decades

The Egyptian government has decided to increase the price of subsidized bread for the first time in decades as of early next June in a bid to curtail the gap between the production cost and sale price. Under the decision, the bread price will shoot up by 300 percent to 20 piasters (USD 0.0042) from just five piasters, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said at a press conference following a cabinet meeting. The State has kept the subsidized bread policy unchanged for more than 30 years, Madbouli said, adding that the cost of a loaf of bread is 125 piasters, while its price is only five. Bread subsidy costs the State more than 120 billion Egyptian pounds (around USD 2.5 billion), he estimated, noting that the price should be increased in order to cut the subsidy. As the world's biggest wheat importer, Egypt imported roughly 10.88 million metric tons of wheat in 2023, up 14.7 percent from 9.48 million tons in 2022. Source: Kuwait News Agency