Subsidised food commodities are back to the market, but are the benefits really being felt by the impoverished millions? Dena Rashed searches for the answer In a narrow side-street in Bein Al-Sarayat, hundreds of subsidised food packages are being unloaded from trucks to be stored in a wholesale store. It is midday and the labourers are doing their best to unload the truckloads before the afternoon. The packages make up a portion of the tons of subsidised goods exchangeable by the newly-issued ration card, which came into effect last month. But the idea behind the ration cards is far from new. It started in 1945 during the Second World War as a measure to help people overcome the difficult post-war conditions. During the 1990s, however, the government dwindled subsidies to comprise just sugar and oil. The economic turbulence, however, made the subsidies, and the cost of other basic goods, an issue of national concern -- ever-escalating prices causing much furore amongst the people. In the past 12 months, in response to the sharp devaluation of the Egyptian pound on 28 January 2003, and the resulting jump in prices of commodities, the Cabinet issued a price list commodities -- a move aimed to impose a price ceiling on the cost of basic goods. The move did little good. This year, in yet another attempt to muffle prices and public outrage, the government announced the re-introduction of ration cards for seven basic food commodities; sugar, rice, tea, margarine, macaroni, beans ( fuul) and lentil. Only holders of the ration cards could buy the subsidised goods from the retail groceries supervised by the government. The plan has meant that an additional LE3.5 million will be allocated by the Ministry of Finance to subsidies, bringing the total subsidy bill to LE6.5 billion. Introduced on 1 May, the government plan is still in its trial phase. At the Bein Al-Sarayat wholesale store, manager Samir Mohamed explains what is going on. "This is only part of the tons of subsidised commodities the government provides for the holders of the ration cards," he says. "But there is still a shortage. We have been receiving some commodities for the past month -- before the ration cards were activated -- but we have not received certain commodities," said Mohamed. Sitting on his tiny desk in the store, surrounded by piles of food products, Mohamed is faced with complaints from the owners of the retail shops who are authorised to sell the subsidised goods. They pop their heads periodically into the store to ensure that their share of the goods is actually there. "We know this is the first month so things can't be perfect, but there are certain commodities that have not arrived yet, like beans, tea and lentil," he says. Moving out to the store front, Mohamed urges the labourers unloading the trucks to move faster. "Everyday someone has to be present from the grocery shop to ensure we will get enough commodities," says Mohamed Salem, the owner of a grocery shop. "Although commodities like rice and sugar are available, some other products are not available yet." It is a fact that has proven problematic. "When we have a shortage," explains Said El-Sawy, inspector of the wholesale store, "Retail grocery shops will only get 25 per cent of their share of the commodities to ensure that all groceries get a share even if it is less than their quota." But things do not always work out as planned. Salah El-Fao, owner of a grocery shop in Al-Omraniya district in Giza, complains about not receiving any portion of certain commodities like lentils. The critique of the government's ration card plan is not however just limited to the shortage of supplies. Accessibility to the ration cards themselves has also proven problematic. Decades ago, when the ration cards were initiated, only families had the right to apply for subsidised goods -- the ration card providing them with a wide range of low-priced food commodities. But as the subsidies were cut to just oil and sugar, and the economic turbulence took on greater force, not only did many people fail to renew their cards, but families with more than two children were not permitted to add their children to their cards to obtain more goods. As a result, according to the Ministry of Supply, statements for the year 2004 show that only 9.3 million ration cards were approved by the government, serving 39 million citizens. While those millions will indeed benefit from the lower prices of commodities, other millions are being denied that right. According to Minister of Supply Hassan Khedr, "the ministry will not issue new ration cards, and no new-born will be added to the ration cards." In fact, all those born after 1988 were not allowed to be added to family ration cards, raising doubts about the constitutionality of that decision, denying many people who were not able to issue new ration cards or renew their old ones, their right to subsidised commodities. For a nation in which many earn as little as LE150 a month, the saving of LE30 or LE40 through the purchase of subsidised goods makes a magnitude of a difference. "Neighbours told me that new commodities are available so I came to check if that was true," said Sabrine, a house wife buying subsidised goods from a grocery shop. Sabrine, like many others, was not aware of the commodities she was entitled to. When she found out, she headed straight to the nearest wholesale outlet. "It is the first time in a long time to use the ration card," she shared with Al-Ahram Weekly. "But I am glad we are using it again, any decrease in prices will help." But while the lowered prices definitely make a difference, the quality of the commodities is an issue of consumer concern. "I will only buy the products that I trust," said Tarek Zakariya, who came to buy goods for his father -- who never had a ration card issued for himself. Browsing the aisles, Zakariya expressed scepticism. "It is not healthy anymore to use margarine," he said. "Besides I don't know the names of the companies that produce some of these goods, I would rather buy the brand names even if they are more expensive like tea for example." As the ration card trial takes off, and holders flock to wholesalers to get their fair share of goods, the status of non-government affiliated grocery shops is at stake. "It is evident that the sales of the independent grocery shops are affected, since many people will evidently use the ration cards to buy their share of the subsidised goods," said Salah Abdel-Aziz, deputy of the chamber of the groceries. Abdel-Aziz argues that many groceries shut down since they were not making enough profits. "But what can we do," Abdel-Aziz said, "If it is for the sake of the low-income citizens, we can't protest to that, we won't be fair to millions of people who will certainly benefit in a way or another from the new system."
