Sisi vows to raise price of bread

Cairo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday his administration is ready to raise the price of subsidised bread as part of its continued austerity push towards economic recovery.

"The time has come for the price of a loaf of bread to increase from 5 piastres ($0.0032 cents)," Sisi said at a televised conference unveiling a nutrition project for schoolchildren. "It’s not realistic that I sell 20 loaves for the same price as a cigarette... This must stop," he added.

His remarks sparked anger from some Egyptians on social media. Egypt, the world’s largest importer of wheat, has subsidised bread for decades. Each eligible citizen needing a social safety net is allocated five round loaves a day.