Egypt Fixes Price of Bread as Ukraine War Hits Wheat Supply and Egyptian Pound Drops
Egypt has fixed the price of bread amid a global surge in wheat prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move comes after war shut off access to cheaper wheat from the Black Sea region, particularly affecting exports to the Middle East and north African region.
Egypt is the world’s biggest wheat importer, bringing in about 60% of its grain from overseas. Russia and Ukraine accounted for 80% of the country’s imports last year.
The Egyptian prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, set the price of commercially sold bread at 11.50 Egyptian pounds a kilo on Monday (March 21), which is 49 British pence.
The new fixed price for flat, round balady bread weighing 90g has been set at 1.00 Egyptian pounds.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s pound has depreciated by almost 14% after weeks of pressure on the currency as foreign investors pulled out billions of dollars from Egyptian treasury markets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The pound dropped to 18.17-18.27 against the dollar on Monday, Refinitiv data showed, after having traded at approximately 15.7 pounds to the dollar since November 2020.
That is likely to have a heavy toll on poor and middle-class Egyptians.
