The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) allocated $1.8bn to cover the import cost for six months worth of reserves of all strategic goods in order to prevent any possible food shortages, said Supply Minister Mohamed Ali Meselhy in a press conference on Wednesday. This increase in prices led the government to announce the provision of 50,000 tonnes to supply the growing demand. The minister added that $1.8bn has already been allocated and that the ministry had collaborated with the armed forces to achieve the necessary amount of reserves. He added that the ministry is planning to halt its support to open-air wheat silos in favour of more climate-controlled silos, in order to fight fraud while minimising waste. Egypt currently has a population of 91 million and approximately 21 million use the food subsidy card system.

Source: Daily News Egypt October 19, 2016 13:30 UTC