The Egyptian government has raised the price of diesel by (Egyptian Pound) EGP 1.00 to EGP 8.25 per litre.
The government left gasoline(petrol) prices, which are also subsidized, unchanged, considering that it was only increased in March 2023.
The 14% raise on diesel shoots up the price of product by 22% since July 2022, when the government increased the price for the first time in five years in the context of the commodities shock triggered by the war in Ukraine.
Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry argues that the price of diesel to the government has risen to EGP 12.25 per litre as a result of both devaluation of the local currency and the higher prices in the global market. This increase should peg the subsidy at $2.1Billion (or EGP 64Billion) a year, from $2.64Billion (or EGP80Billion), the Ministry says.
Egyptians use diesel as the key fuel of public transport, as well as for vehicles that transport goods and raw materials around the country.
North Africa’s largest economy and the Arab World’s most populous country is an energy subsidy state. It pegs prices of piped natural gas for households and industry and converts over 4Billion standard cubic feet of gas every day into more than 40,000MW of electricity.
