Egyptian Cabinet spokesperson Mohamed al-Hommosany announced that the government has devised a plan to gradually lift electricity subsidies within four years.
During a phone interview with the al-Mehwar satellite channel on Tuesday, Hommosany said that the state bears huge burdens for the electricity subsidies.
The state has drawn up a plan to gradually lift subsidies on fuel and petroleum products by the end of 2025, he added, indicating that diesel will be outside the plan to remove subsidies.
Regarding bread subsidies, Hommosany confirmed that Egypt produces 100 billion subsidized loaves annually, and that “We sell a loaf for only five piasters, meaning that we get five billion pounds from the total sales, while the cost of producing the loaf is LE 1.25, which represents a large burden on the state’s budget.”
He assured the increase will be little and will not impact citizens.
“The increase will be limited, perhaps a few piasters,” he clarified, and will represent “covering, even a small amount, of the cost of the large subsidy bill.
“It will not constitute a major burden on the shoulders of citizens,” he assured.
He also revealed that the government is considering converting commodity support into cash.
