A source of nutrients and anxiety: Egypt cuts back on longtime bread subsidies
After more than three decades, Egypt has increased the fixed price of subsidized bread from 0.05 Egyptian pounds ($0.0010) a loaf to 0.20 Egyptian pounds ($0.0042). With record levels of inflation already straining the Egyptian people — the majority of whom rely upon the discounted dietary staple — Cairo-based photojournalist Hamada Elrasam turns his lens on bakeries and their customers amid the 300% price hike. Captions by Elle Kurancid.
![Two-thirds of Egypt’s 106 million people count on the state’s bread subsidy program; in addition to the staple, fuel and electricity subsidies face cuts, as officials criticize “the size of [the state’s] subsidy bill.” Cairo, Egypt, June 26, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-81cc-08dc95e53413_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Two-thirds of Egypt’s 106 million people count on the state’s bread subsidy program; in addition to the staple, fuel and electricity subsidies face cuts, as officials criticize “the size of [the state’s] subsidy bill.” Cairo, Egypt, June 26, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
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Youssef and Mostafa, friends from Upper Egypt, work in a subsidized bakery for about $4 a day. “The new price of bread is unbearable for many people,” says Youssef. “We’re lucky to receive some free loaves from work.” Cairo, Egypt, June 24, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
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This bakery sells 14,500 loaves a day to hundreds of struggling families. Food security is a source of chronic anxiety for them as the ongoing shocks of the Russia-Ukraine war and Egypt’s cost-of-living crisis hit hard. Cairo, Egypt, June 24, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
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Wheat factory workers deliver sacks of subsidized flour to a bakery. Egypt, a top global wheat importer, says half of the 18 million tons of the grain that it consumes each year goes to subsidized bread. Cairo, Egypt, June 24, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)