Egypt's government announced on Friday that it is raising the supply prices of some basic crops to support local farmers – including sugar cane, corn and wheat – one day after the country floated its currency and increased the price of subsidised fuel. The government announced in a statement that the supply price of one tonne of sugar cane increased from EGP 400 to EGP 500, and the price of one ardeb (roughly 150 kg) of wheat increased from EGP 420 to EGP 450. The supply price of one ardeb of corn also increased from EGP 2,100 to EGP 2,500, according to the statement. The move comes as part of the government's plan to slash its total subsidy bill in the new budget by 14 percent in the 2016/17 fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year. The 2016/17 budget showed the total subsidy registering EGP 130.1 billion, of which EGP 46.3 billion are allocated for a food and farmer subsidy. On 1 November, Egypt's supply ministry increased the price of the subsidised sugar sold through ration cards by 40 percent to reach EGP 7 per kilogram after weeks of a market shortage of sugar supplies. On Thursday, Egypt's oil ministry increased the subsidised price of fuel between 30 and 50 percent. In mid 2014, Egypt embarked on a fiscal reform programme in an attempt to curb the growing state budget deficit through cutting subsidies and introducing new taxes including the value added tax.
