Egyptians are growing worried about a shortage of bread gripping the country, especially with children returning to school.
The situation is to worsen since summer holidays ended yesterday and hundreds of thousands of children have returned to the classroom.
Newspapers have for days been reporting shortages of bread, which is subsidized by the state. Long lines of customers have formed outside bakeries.
Observers say the problem stems from a national flour shortage caused by a below-average wheat harvest, technical problems at mills and higher international wheat prices.
The Egyptian government says it has taken action to solve the problem which started several weeks ago.
"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak issued directives to increase daily bread production by 10 percent to attain 210 million loaves per day," Information Minister Safwat Sherif told reporters Wednesday.
Bread is one of 25 essential food items subsidized by the state. It is supposed to sell for five piasters (less than US$0.01) a loaf.
An increase in the price in 1977 provoked violent protests that were dubbed the "bread riots."
One customer in a working-class Cairo neighborhood near the Great Pyramids said the shortage of government-subsidized bread amounted to a "crisis" for some people.
"It's difficult to find a bakery that sells bread at the government price," Said said, adding that the cheapest his wife could find most days was 10 piasters.
He said he also suspects the loaves are getting smaller.
In the capital's Dokki neighborhood, a woman dressed in black robes and black headscarf was visibly upset when a bakery stopped selling subsidized bread at the noon deadline.
"What's this? I've been waiting 10 minutes and when my turn comes, they tell me there's no bread," she screamed.
One Cairo baker, Gamal Ibrahim, said that the shortage of the round, flat bread was partly "due to the sale of subsidized flour on the black market."
But he said the government had pledged to step up deliveries of subsidized flour starting yesterday to meet an expected rise in demand due to children returning to school.
"Long lines have been forming for about a month," he said as around a dozen people stood outside his shop.
Magdi Issa, vice president of the Cereal Industries Union, said 1 tonne of subsidized flour is sold for 400 Egyptian pounds less than the market price to some 3,500 of the 6,800 bakeries across the country.
The liberal opposition daily Al-Wafd complained that, with the return to school approaching, "a state of emergency has been declared in all homes" which are suffering from rising costs of school items, including uniforms.
Bankers in Cairo say the cost of living has risen by 10 percent for the poorest people and some 20 percent for the middle class, as the pound sterling continues a long devaluation and the cost of imports trickles through.
"All the problems in Egyptian society -- education, bread, unemployment, population density, or economic -- are a result of the population explosion," Mubarak said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
RSS