CAIRO: In a country where bread is a staple food, it is only natural that a shortage of this main dietary element creates public outrage. With Ramadan underway and Eid to follow, the Ministry of Social Solidarity is struggling to find a solution to the escalating crisis.
Egypt has been suffering from a shortage of wheat and flour after both ingredients went through a price surge in global markets two months ago. The result has been queues of protestors outside local bakeries that run out of bread everyday.
The government provides subsidized bread to citizens who hold ration cards. Every citizen is entitled to 20 loaves of the subsidized, traditional baladi bread weighing 130 gm and sold for 5 piasters, a day.
In the first week of August, wheat prices surged from $109 to $334 dollars a ton, said Mohamed Reda, general manager of the Egyptian Industrial Chamber of Grains, to Daily News Egypt in a previous interview.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Social Solidarity closed down a bakery, because its owner was giving out coupons that entitled its holders to five free bread loaves. The baker told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that he was trying to help the needy during the holy month of Ramadan. The ministry said that this is a form of black market indulgence that will not be accepted, especially because this is a subsidized commodity.
As the problem persists, people grow more concerned that this basic necessity will soon be unavailable to the poor.
“We do not have a flour problem, we have a corruption issue, a source at the Ministry of Social Solidarity told Daily News Egypt. According to the source, public bakeries that receive subsidized flour from the government sell their supply of flour on the black market to private bakeries for a high profit margin. As a result, they make the subsidized baladi bread lighter and smaller due to the lack of ingredients.
Aware of the black market problem, the ministry tried to change the way they distribute flour, but failed.
The flour shortage is expected to worsen as the Eid festivities near, celebrated with a variety of sweets and kahk (a mix of flour and butter with sweet fillings) served during the three-day holiday.
“Public bakeries sell the subsidized flour to private bakers, this is an easy way for them to make money, Mohamed Abu-Hussein, manager of Baker, an upscale bakery in the Maadi district said.
While he does not use subsidized flour, he says that public bakers transport the flour at night “in complete secrecy. The private bakeries then mix the cheaper flour with the regular flour, producing the same taste for less money.
Public bakeries are subject to random inspections to ensure that they consume their share of flour to produce subsidized bread at the expected quotas. However, bakery inspectors usually take bribes, making it more difficult to stop the trend.
Addressing the overall inflation of prices last week, the Cabinet decided to raise the budget allocated for subsidies from LE 9.7 billion to LE 14.4 billion. The extra LE 4.7 billion will be used to subsidize wheat, which is used to make the baladi bread loaf. The decision awaits approval by the People’s Assembly.
Moreover, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid announced last week that the government will subsidize the cost of white fino (artisan) bread, commonly used to make sandwiches for schoolchildren. A loaf of bread would weigh 90 gm and cost 10 piasters.
While the government attempts to do their part, the public should also contribute to ending the crisis. The Ministry of Social Solidarity calls on “public bakers to have the integrity and not sell government [subsidized] flour on the black market and for people to not buy more than what they can consume.
“At the end of the day, it is the poor who are affected by this crisis, the ministry’s source said.
