The government is studying a memorandum from the General Bakeries Division at the Federation of Chambers of Commerce proposing that unsubsidized bread be sold at subsidized bakeries for 1.5 Egyptian pounds ($0.03) per 90-gram loaf, two sources in the division told Al Manassa.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday that the proposal to sell bread to all citizens through subsidized bakeries was under evaluation to ensure it is implemented in a way that serves citizens’ interests and helps control market prices.
The remarks followed his recent announcement that the government aims to convert ration subsidies from in-kind support to cash payments during the current fiscal year.
Hani Mekky, the division’s deputy head, told Al Manassa the memorandum includes a proposal to issue a dedicated card for unsubsidized bread being sold at market prices, enabling citizens, whether or not they hold ration cards, to buy bread from subsidized bakeries. Post offices, the Smart company, bakeries or any other government-designated body would provide the cards.
The new card-system seeks to formalize and regulate the sale of unsubsidized bread and bring it under the state’s umbrella, Mekky said. It would be intended primarily for citizens outside the ration card system, preserving the same official, organized channel they are accustomed to using to obtain bread.
He added that preliminary estimates at the Ministry of Supply indicate that around 2.5 million ration cards have recently been dropped from the system, saying those citizens will need a mechanism that guarantees them access to bread in an orderly manner, as they are used to.
Moreover, Mekky stressed that the government has imposed financial penalties on local bakeries, which produce the subsidized loaves, if they sell bread to anyone without a ration card, under Ministerial Decree No. 175 of 2024, which means a new decree regulating unsubsidized sales through the proposed card would be needed before those bakeries could sell bread outside the ration card system.
He noted that the proposed card would set no cap on quantities and would operate on a prepaid basis, much like topping up mobile phone credit. Citizens could load it with whatever amount they choose and use it to buy any quantity of bread at the unsubsidized price.
The unsubsidized bread card proposal is not linked to the shift toward cash subsidies, Mekky pointed out, stressing that the two tracks are entirely separate and that the unsubsidized bread system aims only to regulate sales to citizens who do not benefit from ration cards.
Early last month, the Ministry of Supply began to “strictly” enforce eligibility criteria for ration subsidies, sources with knowledge of the subsidy database had previously told Al Manassa. At the same time, several citizens received messages on their bread purchase receipts saying their ration cards had been suspended, sparking controversy on social media.
Last week, a member of the ministerial committee formed this year to restructure the subsidy system revealed a government plan to cut the number of ration card beneficiaries to between 30 and 40 million citizens, in preparation for the transition to cash subsidies during the current fiscal year, a move denied by the Assistant Supply Minister for Digital Services, Mohamed Sheta.
For his part, division spokesperson Khaled Sabry said the new proposal aims to end the problems citizens face when buying bread from some “tourist bakeries,” which sell unsubsidized bread, such as prices that vary from one bakery to another, inconsistent loaf weights and quality, and the absence of strict oversight of some outlets.
Sabry told Al Manassa that raising bakeries’ production rates lowers the cost of a loaf, since monthly expenses such as gas and electricity bills and workers’ wages are largely unaffected by output volume.
