Egypt aims to remove around 2 million citizens from its food subsidy system this month as it begins enforcing all eligibility criteria for ration cards, a source at the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade told Al Manassa.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the government had applied only a limited number of these criteria in recent years, while suspending others, before reinstating them at the beginning of June 2026, when “all criteria were strictly activated.”
In 2016, the Ministry of Supply set specific criteria to identify individuals who were ineligible for subsidies. Over the years, these criteria were gradually expanded, reaching a total of 14 exclusion conditions by 2023.
The updated criteria now include individuals residing in homes with “coded electricity meters,” families who enroll their children in international schools, business owners with large capital or significant commercial registrations, residents of well-established gated communities, and owners of luxury vehicles. These classifications are based on regulations and definitions outlined by the Ministry of Finance.
The source added that the ministry has increased the maximum monthly income threshold for citizens eligible for subsidies from 9,600 Egyptian pounds (approximately $195) to 24,000 pounds ($485). However, exclusion from the subsidy program based on income will be final, meaning there will be no opportunity for individuals whose income later decreases below the threshold to rejoin the system.
So far, around 850,000 citizens have been excluded from the ration card system over building violations and ownership of coded electricity meters.
This contradicts previous assurances by the government that there was no link between installing coded meters and exclusion from the food subsidy system. The Ministry of Supply also confirmed in 2019 that electricity consumption had been removed from the criteria for determining subsidy eligibility, after actual practice revealed problems with that standard.
But after directives issued by the prime minister in August 2024 to suspend subsidies for anyone against whom a report of electricity theft had been filed, several holders of coded meters, who had submitted paperwork to the Ministry of Electricity that included “routine” electricity theft reports, were surprised to find their ration cards canceled.
These criteria have angered millions of people who were excluded in recent years, prompting the ministry in 2019 to reinstate 1.8 million people on ration cards so they could receive subsidized goods.
Among the most notable exclusion criteria applied in recent years were high government wages or pensions, increased electricity consumption or cell phone bills, ownership of agricultural land, payment of high school fees, or large customs and tax payments.
