CAIRO: Butane gas cylinders will be available though the subsidized coupon system in a couple of months, Egypt's supply minister said. Through the coupon system, citizens will buy butane gas cylinders for LE 5. Those who do not have the subsidies supply card will pay LE 25, he added. Each butane gas cylinder will cost the state LE 80, Minister of Supply and Domestic Trade, Gouda Abdel Khaleq told Al-Hayat TV late on Monday. Egypt has been suffering from a shortage of butane gas cylinders for months. People complain that the cylinders are sometimes not available on the black market even at high prices. The new system aims to equally distribute butane gas cylinders and eradicate the black market where prices may reach LE 70-80. The ministry began distributing around LE 270 million worth of coupons across the country before it starts implementing the system in May. “Citizens with an income of less than LE 1,500 a month will get a supply card,” said Abdel Khaleq, adding that the number of coupons will depend on the number of family members. Speaking before the People's Assembly, Minister of Petroleum Abdallah Ghorab said that the average citizen does not benefit from the LE 20 billion allocated to subsidize butane gas cylinders due to poor distribution. In 2011, natural gas had reached 600,000 households in Egypt with plans to increase this figure to 750,000 in 2012, he added.
