Sales of meat for Eid al-Adha feast reached LE135 million at ministry outlets on Sunday, as the public bought a collective 2,200 tonnes of meat (from 11,000 animals) in preparation for the Muslim festival this week, announced Supply Minister Mohamed al-Sheikh.
An estimated LE415 million in food commodities has been bought by consumers using smart card points, as per a government scheme to allocate subsidized bread and other essentials on a smart card point system.
The ministry sets aside LE500 million in food commodities to be disbursed to citizens each month, according to the minister, who said that this month's high rate of sales indicates the commodities are available.
The ministry has been working with banks and food holding companies to provide low-income households with meat at reduced prices for the festival marked by animal sacrifice.
Sheikh said the ministry is collaborating with the Petroleum Ministry to up the supply of butane gas and gasoline to stations this week in anticipation of increased demand for petroleum substances during the extended national holiday.
Parts of the country were hit by a shortage of butane gas cylinders last week, with prices doubling in some cities. Hamdi al-Sherbiny, the head of the supply directorate for Sharqiya governorate, said that the main reason for the shortage is that the ministry didn’t deliver the governorate its allocation of butane gas, causing a shortage in some cities, in addition to the increased demand on butane gas cylinders ahead of Eid al-Adha.
The ministry has also set up a central operations center that will operate 24 hours a day during Eid, Sheikh added, to distribute meat supplies and deal with complaints throughout the Islamic holy festival.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
