(AFP Photo)
The Egyptian Cabinet announced Wednesday that a series of discounts on food products and necessary commodities is set to start in April in order to ease the financial “burden on the citizens” and help them face “the phenomenon of increasing prices”.
“This comes as part of the [government’s] interest in consumer complexes and the aim to improve them and increase their competitive advantage,” the cabinet said in an official statement.
The cabinet said, however, that the discounts started on 5 April and will end on 15 April, leaving just a week for citizens to take advantage of the announced offer.
The annual inflation rate registered at 10.2% in February, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The urban consumer inflation rate in February also increased 15.7% year on year and 0.3% month on month.
The discount will range between 10% and 15% and will be implemented in all the branches of consumer complexes that belong to the Food Industries Holding Company.
Cooking oil, tomatoes, rice, meats and fish are all included in the cabinet’s discount announcement, along with dairy products, juices and canned goods.
At the begging of March, Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy dubbed the current Egyptian bread distribution system as a “failure”.
“This system allowed bakery owners to smuggle flour and sell it on the black market at higher prices,” Hanafy said, during a press conference. The bread distribution system has wasted between 20% and 25% of the state’s bread subsidies budget, which amounts to around EGP 21bn, he said.
Hanafy announced that his ministry is currently working with real estate developers, exploring the possibility of establishing Egypt’s first integrated commercial city as a tool to boost tourism and generate jobs.
