Egypt’s Ministry of Supply launches a six-month initiative Thursday to offer basic foodstuffs at reduced prices, though officials admitted key inventory relies partly on unreleased stock from a previous support grant.
The program comes in response to presidential directives from last July to ease living burdens after five years of severe inflationary pressure, with annual inflation hovering at 13%.
While the ministry aims to cushion consumers through March, including the month of Ramadan, it did not disclose available supply volumes, raising questions among traders over its ability to stabilize broader market rates.
Hazem El-Menoufy, a member of the Foodstuffs Division at the Chambers of Commerce, told Al Manassa that the initiative’s prices “could set a price ceiling for certain goods, especially as they are offered at competitive rates, and so discourage merchants from price gouging.”
In its statement, the ministry reviewed the prices of the offered commodities, which El-Menoufy estimated at 25% to 50% below market prices. He cited the price of tea in the initiative, set at 5 pounds for a 40-gram pack compared to 10 pounds in the market, and the price of a 700ml bottle of mixed oil, which usually retails for 55 to 65 pounds, at 50 pounds in the initiative.
The commodities will initially be distributed across 284 state-run outlets. However, ministry officials declined to specify exact quantities, leaving doubt as to whether the supply can meaningfully regulate market prices.
Authorities currently lack final figures on the volume of commodities injected into the market, ministry spokesperson Ahmed Kamal told Al Manassa, explaining that evaluating supply levels “requires time following the start of the initiative and the aggregation of data from various entities.”
Kamal noted that the ministry seeks to rapidly expand the number of commodity items. The first phase of the initiative covers 12 commodities, with an additional 18 commodities added during this month, to reach 30 in total. He did not specify whether the goods were locally sourced or imported, but confirmed that the Holding Company for Food Industries is managing execution.
Meanwhile, an official at the Ministry of Supply, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that part of the initiative’s inventory consists of leftover stock originally earmarked for an exceptional ration support increase that was never fully disbursed.
The supplies include remaining quantities from a grant that had been scheduled for distribution through last July, alongside commodities provided by the Holding Company for Food Industries, the source explained.
The government had approved an exceptional cash ration bonus of 400 Egyptian pounds (about $8) per card for March and April, before extending the grant through May and June.
However, government sources previously told Al Manassa that cardholders never received the additional two months of support.
