By Bothumelo Gigaba, in Cairo
The Egyptian government has increased fuel prices again, the fourth time in 12 months, as part of the plan to move energy prices to cost recovery levels by the end of 2025.
Three fuel price increases were made in 2024, the last being in October 2024, when prices went up between 8% and 17.5%.
This time (April 13, 2025), the fuel pricing committee of the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum raised vehicle fuel prices by 12.8-14.8%, according a statement.
Despite these new highs, the cost of buying fuels in Egypt’s petrol filling stations remained at less than three quarters of the prices in Nigeria, a comparable economy which has dispensed entirely with state superintended price control. The highest new PMS price in Egypt, which is EGP 19.00(or $.0.37) per litre, converts to 592Nigerian Naira, around 70% of the lowest price of PMS at Nigerian filling stations.
The Egyptian government kept down prices for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), described in Egypt as Autogas, and also held off increasing the price of heavy fuel oil for electricity and the food industry, but prices of heavy fuel oil meant for industrial purposes, as well as prices for LPG (butane or cooking gas), rose as high as those of diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS), as follows:
95-Octane (PMS) now costs EGP 19.00(or $.0.37) per litre, up 11.8% from EGP 17.00 ( $.0.33);
92-Octane (PMS) rose to EGP 17.25(or $.0.34) per litre, up 13.1% from EGP 15.25($.0.30);
80-Octane (PMS) reached EGP 15.75(or $.0.31) per litre), up 14.5% from EGP 13.75 ($0.27);
Diesel and kerosene now cost EGP 15.50 ($.0.30) per litre, up 14.8% from EGP 13.50($0.26);;
12.5-kg butane gas cylinder increased to EGP 200 ($3.9), up 33.3% from 150 EGP ($2.93), while the commercial cylinder now costs EGP 400 ($7.8), up 33.3% from EGP 300 ($5.85).
Prices for Heavy fuel oil for the industrial sector soared by 10.5% to EGP 10,500 ($205) per ton.
The Egyptian government declared that it would still spend up to $215Million every month on energy subsidies despite these hikes in prices, which have translated to steep cuts in subsidies
