Egypt plans to gradually increase the price of basic commodities distributed through ration cards in the coming period, according to the country’s supply minister.
(Bloomberg) — Egypt plans to gradually increase the price of basic commodities distributed through ration cards in the coming period, according to the country’s supply minister.
“The hike of subsidized commodities prices distributed through ration cards now force us to review the prices or otherwise the government will not be able to fund or provide these commodities,” Supply Minister Ali El-Mosilhy said at a press conference in Cairo. He added that the review process would start in the coming days.
The government has deliberately reduced the stocks of some items such as wheat and vegetable oils that are imported from abroad, for shorter periods ranging between three months and six months, as a result of high inflation and a dollar shortage, El-Mosilhy said.
Read more: Egypt’s Credit Outlook Lowered to Negative by S&P as Prices Soar
To deal with the dollar shortage, the government is considering adopting local currencies between Egypt and some countries with which it trades. Negotiations with Russia, China and India are ongoing, but nothing has been decided yet, as the matter is on the table for central and commercial banks, according to El-Mosilhy.
Egypt also plans to import 5 million tons of wheat from the global market in the fiscal year 2023-2024, he added.
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