Egypt expands food rations to extra 17 mln Egypt will add at least 17 million people to the ranks of ration card holders to ease the effect of rising food prices and will double the amount of rice handed out, a minister said yesterday. The number of people eligible for subsidized food rations will climb to 55 million people, or more than 70 percent of Egypt s population, Social Solidarity Minister Aly El-Moselhi told Reuters. We said the closing date (for new registrations for cards) would be June 30. Up to now we have received about 17 million additional citizens... This means we will cover about 55 million people, he said in an interview. Egyptian inflation jumped to 16.4 percent in the year to April and the government is trying to contain growing public discontent over rising food prices and low wages. Three people were killed in a Nile Delta town last month in clashes with police after textile workers tried to strike. Egypt had not added to the ration card registry since 1988. Poor Egyptians, who spend a disproportionate amount of their income on food, have been hard hit by higher prices for free market rice, meat, vegetables, cooking oil and foodstuffs. Moselhi said the extra ration would cost the government an additional LE 1.7 billion in the 2008/9 year, which starts on July 1. Egyptians with the cards will be eligible to buy 2 kg of rice - double the amount previously allowed - in addition to 2 kg of sugar, 1.5 kg of oil, and 50 grams of tea per person every month for LE 15. If you think of a family of four persons, they will get quite sufficient amounts from these components, Moselhi said. -Agencies Lecico Egypt revenue up 14 pct in first quarter Lecico Egypt announced its consolidated results for the first quarter of 2008, reporting a revenue increase of 14 percent to LE 264.1 million, 65.6 percent from sanitary ware. Net profit touched LE 29.6 million, a 25 percent increase, the company said in a press statement. Sanitary ware revenue rose by 9 percent to reach LE 173.2 million, partially driven by a 2 percent growth in volumes to 1.4 million pieces (59.4 percent exports). Tile revenue reached LE 90.9 million, a 25 percent increase, driven mainly by 24 percent growth in volumes to 6.0 million square meters. Lecico Egypt Chairman and CEO Gilbert Gargour said, "I am pleased to report a very strong start to the year, with the highest quarterly gross, operating and net profit results in over two years. Our volumes continue to grow and we have so far been able to absorb Egyptian and global inflationary pressures while improving our returns. "In the Egyptian market in particular, we have seen very strong demand despite our recent price increases. Our recent efforts to grow sales in the Middle East have also continued to show strong results in the quarter, with both sanitary ware and tiles exports in the region continuing to grow strongly in the quarter. "However, the news is not all good and we have seen the beginning of some of the challenges that we anticipated for 2008 impacting our numbers. Our outsourcing for Sanitec is down significantly as expected this quarter and we are seeing some signs of a slowdown in our major European markets which may be linked to a downturn in the economies of these countries. Egypt says aims to up reserves to $38 bln by June 09 Reuters reported that Egypt aims to increase foreign currency reserves to around $38 billion by the end of June 2009, the state-run news agency said on Thursday, quoting State Minister for Economic Development Osman Mohamed Osman. Foreign reserves stood at $33.81 billion at the end of April, according to the Central Bank. Osman also said that the government s target is to increase foreign direct investment in Egypt to around $15 billion in the fiscal year 2008/2009 from $11.1 billion in the 2006/07 fiscal year. The years start on July 1. -Agencies Sudan, Egypt to cultivate wheat Reuters reported that Egypt has identified an area of about 2 million acres (800,000 hectares) on the border with Sudan where Egypt and Sudan could grow wheat in a joint project, Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza said on Thursday. The land is in the Arqin area, straddling the Nile close to the border town of Wadi Halfa, and the land is split between 700,000 acres in Egyptian territory and 1.3 million acres in Sudan, the minister told Reuters. Through this land we could start to bring about the dream of self-sufficiency in grains and tackle the increase in the international price of grain, especially wheat, he added. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said a proposal for a joint wheat project covering 1 million acres on the border would be submitted at a meeting with Sudan in Cairo on May 23. Sudanese presidential adviser Nafie Ali Nafie, who discussed wheat projects in Cairo earlier this week, said it would cost $2 billion to reclaim and develop enough land to grow 2 million tons of wheat a year. The cost would be half of the current international price for the crop. Egypt grows more than 7 million tons of wheat a year and imports more than 6 million. Sudan imports 2 million tons of wheat a year, Abaza said. The minister said it would take between 3 million and 4 million extra acres of land to cover the wheat deficits of the two countries combined. -Agencies
