Minister of Social Solidarity Dr. Meselhy has announced the subsidized flour liberalization plan which Al-Masry Al-Youm had reported on January 5. He said in press statements that Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif and the ministers of trade, labor and investment decided to assign the wheat purchases to the Mills Holding Company of the Ministry of Social Solidarity, ensuring the workers' rights and providing liquidity. He also said the plan includes a system for early retirement. He explained that the goal of the liberalization plan is to improve the quality of the bread and eliminate waste through a four-stage plan over two years, beginning with 20% of the subsidized flour quotas. “We aim to support competition although some people do not want such competition in the production of bread, which is the largest commodity in Egypt in terms of quantity and cost,” Meselhy added, stressing that he had consulted with the chambers of commerce and the mills before approving the new system. He has reiterated that bread would continue to be subsidized and that the new system would eliminate the black market and price distortions. The minister also said that he has formally requested to stop the Ukrainian wheat imports, noting that the remaining amount of it does not exceed 320,000 tons.
