Egypt maintains subsidized bread price despite fuel price hike

CAIRO - Egypt will not raise price of heavily subsidised bread despite a hike in fuel prices of up to 17% announced on Tuesday, Supply Minister Sherif Farouk said in a statement.

Egypt, one of the world's biggest wheat importers and a gas importer, said it would take precautionary "spending rationalisation measures" as the region reels from rising energy prices because of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a statement earlier on Tuesday.

Subsidized bread, distributed through a ration card system, is a cornerstone of Egypt's social safety net, benefiting over 70 million people. The minister's statement emphasizes that the state will absorb additional production costs, including those from higher diesel prices, to prevent any burden on consumers.

Any change to the price of the most widely consumed subsidised bread is a politically sensitive decision affecting tens of millions of Egyptians.

Egypt's bread subsidy program, one of the world's largest, costs the government approximately 120 billion Egyptian pounds (EGP) annually, supporting the production of around 100 billion loaves each year.

The system has historical roots in efforts to maintain social stability, with past attempts to reform it—such as in 1977—leading to widespread riots. In recent years, the government has gradually reformed subsidies on fuel and electricity to meet IMF loan conditions, but bread has been treated with caution.