Minister of Planning and International Corporation Ashraf al-Araby announced that the government is aiming to reduce energy subsidies before FY2014/2015, adding that the government will submit the new general budget to the cabinet within the coming few days to be presented to the interim president before the beginning to the coming fiscal year in July 2014.
It is worth mentioning that the Finance Ministry has prepared the FY14/15 budget with a deficit amounting to LE266 billion. Meanwhile, subsidies represent 31 percent of the FY14/15 budget amounting to LE246 billion out of which LE130 billion energy subsidies.
Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company reduced yesterday the gas supply to the cement and fertilizers plants by 50 percent which will result in cutting down production capacities leading to a significant increase in prices.
Subsidies of petroleum products has achieved a budget financial year 2012/2013, the amount of LE130 billion, according to the final account for the year, while targeting the current fiscal year's budget 2013/2014 devaluation of this support to about LE100 billion.
So far, no clear features of the new budget, which the government seeks to reduce the current deficit ratio to the target by between 10 to 10.5 percent during the next fiscal year, compared with a projected deficit of 12 percent this year, according to statements by Finance Minister Hany Kadry
Egypt’s overall budget deficit narrowed to in eight months from 2013 to 2014 from LE146.5 billion, due to higher non-tax revenues, particularly grants aid from Gulf countries, according to data from the Finance Ministry.
Measured by percentage of economic output, the deficit is now at 6 percent, as opposed to 8.4 percent a year earlier.
