The Egyptian government has allocated 596 billion pounds ($12.66 billion) to the subsidy system, as part of the upcoming budget draft (2024/2025), with the aim of alleviating the burdens on middle- and low-income people affected by high inflation rates and the erosion of resources. From the pound. Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said, in an interview with local media and journalists, on Tuesday, that government support allocations include 134 billion pounds to finance food supplies, more than 147 billion pounds to support petroleum products, and 40 billion pounds for the “Solidarity and Dignity” program.
Last December, the Egyptian government raised the target of subsidizing petroleum products in the current fiscal year by about 9% to 130 billion pounds, a government official told Al-Sharq. Maait explained on Tuesday that the increase in support for petroleum products comes as a result of the rise in global oil prices and the change in the exchange rate, which represents a major challenge to the state’s public finances. He said that bread subsidies exceed 125 billion pounds, after expectations that its cost would exceed 125 piasters, while the citizen pays only five piasters.
Egypt agreed with the International Monetary Fund to increase the value of the financing program granted to the country from three billion dollars to eight billion dollars, after the measures taken by Cairo recently, which included significantly devaluing the currency and raising interest rates by about 600 basis points.