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.
A source of nutrients and anxiety: Egypt cuts back on longtime bread subsidies
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)
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)
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)
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)
With a ration card in hand, Flobater waits inside a bakery for his family’s daily subsidized bread. Egypt’s bread subsidy program covers a maximum of 150 loaves a month per family member. Cairo, Egypt, June 24, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
Mousa, a baker of subsidized bread, says, “My customers are upset about the rising cost of bread and other essentials — vegetables, meat, electricity and transportation. Sometimes they need to pay us later for their loaves.” Cairo, Egypt, June 24, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
Omu Abanoub, a widowed mother, raises chickens at home so her family can eat eggs, after the cost of the protein source tripled last year. The birds subsist on stale bread that she buys for half the price of animal feed. Cairo, Egypt, June 24, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
Omu Abanoub makes bread. “The subsidized bakeries usually shut down early in the day, so we aren’t able to get our loaves every day,” the mother says, since she works two low-paying jobs and her children are in school. Cairo, Egypt, June 25, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
Wafaa’s vulnerable family is permitted 15 subsidized loaves a day as per their ration card. “Fifty pieces are barely enough for us,” she says. “We need to buy the rest from [commercial bakeries] for 1.25 pounds each.” Cairo, Egypt, June 25, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
The meals of Farawla, Wafaa’s niece, hinge on Egypt’s bread subsidy program, which yields some 250 million loaves a day, making it a crucial food source for the more than 60% of the population who are poor or vulnerable. Cairo, Egypt, June 25, 2024. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)