Bread is a critical basic food in Egypt and Russia has been a prime supplier. But Russian wheat prices have been rising, and now two shiploads of the commodity are delayed departing for Egypt. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has a tight grip over the military and the government, but war on the border with Gaza and rising food prices make for a delicate situation.  The government subsidies the price of wheat, rice, and sugar for a large portion of the population. The decline in the value of the Egyptian pound and rising world agricultural commodity prices makes the subsidies more expensive. In FY 2023/24, Egypt’s food subsidies as a share of the national budget will rise 42 percent. The national debt is rising, though it is foreca...

TAGS – Middle East & Africa, Macroeconomics