The Ministry of Social Solidarity said there had been an unprecedented leap in the number of gas cylinders put on sale (from 27 million on normal days to some 32 million). The ministry also explained that such quantity was definitely enough to meet the demand, adding that several decrees had been issued to impose tougher sanctions (up to imprisonment and a LE 1,000 fine) on those selling these cylinders on the black market Al-Masry Al-Youm has learnt that the gas cylinder crisis is due to the increase in the illegal demand by poultry farms and to the absence of any control on warehouses and distribution companies. An official source also unveiled that the owners of some farms illicitly get subsidized gas cylinders at cheap prices for heating. According to this source, these farms get large quantities of cylinders either through some warehouses or through the distributors, as some distribution companies sell subsidized cylinders on the black market at between LE 15 and LE 25 while their price is actually around LE 3.5. The source added that this phenomenon is spreading in Northern Egypt given the colder climate and the large number of poultry farms there. The source also said that the supply authority and localities are both responsible for controlling warehouses and distribution companies, stressing it is important that there are supply authority inspectors in warehouses to make sure the latter receive the cylinders and distribute them to the consumers regularly and at the prices set. The source explained that supply directorates in the governorates are under the Minister of Social Solidarity only from an administrative point of view. As for the nature of the job, in light of the decentralization policy, they are under the localities. The source called for coordination among the parties to guarantee that those administrations carry out their tasks during the crisis in cooperation with the supply investigation bureau. The source added that in Cairo and Giza more and more people receive cylinders from warehouses and then sell them on the street at black market prices, pointing out that this method is illegal for the warehouses. The source called on the supply bureau to tackle this phenomenon.