Egypt has reduced the amount of subsidised sugar allowed by holders of the state ration card after its import bill increased.
The Supply Ministry said holders of the card, which can cover up to four family members, will now be able to buy 1kg of sugar per person, down from 2kg last month.
Cooking oil and rice rations will remain the same.
The reduction follows last week's increase in the subsidised prices of 31 food items at state supply outlets.
The price of 1kg of rice and sugar was raised by two Egyptian pounds, while the price of cooking oil rose by six pounds.
The price increases at state outlets was caused by a continued rise in global food prices for essential items such as grain products and cooking oil, the bulk of which Egypt imports, the ministry said last week.
Another factor was the fall in value of the local currency by around 50 per cent against the dollar, following repeated devaluations by the government last year, the ministry said.
The amount of money allocated to cardholders has stayed the same at 50 Egyptian pounds ($1.62) per person.
'Everything got more expensive'
Aziza Mohamed, 39, a mother of three, said: “I don’t really think that the ministry needed to announce a maximum on sugar this week.
“After everything got more expensive last week, most people won’t be able to afford more than a bottle of cooking oil and a bag each of rice and sugar with the 49 pounds they give us through the card.”
If holders run out of money on the card, they can buy additional items at a price that is less subsidised, but still lower than market prices.
Some cardholders are also registered in other state social welfare programmes such as Takaful, which offers financial relief to orphans and disadvantaged children, and Karama, which helps the elderly.
Ms Mohamed’s elderly mother, who is given 100 Egyptian pounds each month through her Karama card, said she had been told this month that she could no longer use her Karama card to buy rice, sugar or oil because supplies had dropped.
“All they would let me buy with the 100 pounds on my card was cheese, jam or canned tuna,” she told The National.
“These cards have become mostly useless. The only reason most people hold on to them is because they can get good cheap bread with them.”
Egypt’s domestic fuel pricing committee last week increased the price of diesel by one Egyptian pound, a rise of about 14 per cent.
Diesel is the fuel most commonly used by Egyptian bakeries.
To dispel fears that raising the price of diesel would lead to subsidised bread prices rising from 5 piastres ($0.16) for a 90g loaf, Supply Minister Ali El Moseilhy said on May 4 that the state would reimburse bakeries periodically to cover increased operational costs.
The country’s budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year showed a 41 per cent increase in funds allocated to state food subsidy programmes.
Last year, the state paid 90 billion Egyptian pounds, or $4.86 billion according to the May 2022 exchange rate. This year, it will spend 127 billion, which is $4.1 billion by the current exchange rate.
Day 5, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Given the problems Sri Lanka have had in recent times, it was apt the winning catch was taken by Dinesh Chandimal. He is one of seven different captains Sri Lanka have had in just the past two years. He leads in understated fashion, but by example. His century in the first innings of this series set the shock win in motion.
Stat of the day This was the ninth Test Pakistan have lost in their past 11 matches, a run that started when they lost the final match of their three-Test series against West Indies in Sharjah last year. They have not drawn a match in almost two years and 19 matches, since they were held by England at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2015.
The verdict Mickey Arthur basically acknowledged he had erred by basing Pakistan’s gameplan around three seam bowlers and asking for pitches with plenty of grass in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Why would Pakistan want to change the method that has treated them so well on these grounds in the past 10 years? It is unlikely Misbah-ul-Haq would have made the same mistake.
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
