Monday, 30 March 2015 19:58
CAIRO: Egypt’s fuel subsidy bill for the first half of the current fiscal year fell by about 30 percent, the finance ministry said on Monday, as the country reaps the benefits of low global oil prices and last summer’s subsidy cuts.
Egypt has struggled with soaring energy bills caused by high subsidies it provides on fuel for its population of 86 million. The subsidies have helped turn Egypt from a net energy exporter into a net importer over the last few years.
Egypt spent 44.8 billion Egyptian pounds ($ 5.9 billion) on fuel subsidies in the first half of the current fiscal year, down from 64.5 billion a year earlier, a statement from the finance ministry said.
The figures are for the six months to Dec. 31, 2014, as Egypt’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Fuel subsidies have long weighed on Egypt’s state budget and contributed to the economic stagnation that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi promised to tackle when he took office last May.
The government cut subsidies last summer, raising fuel prices by up to 78 percent, a move lauded by economists but criticised by some Egyptians accustomed to cheap energy.
Copyright Reuters, 2015
