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Egypt expects to up energy subsidies, maintain food subsidies ($10b on fuel in 2009)
Egypt is suffocating under the weight of massive state subsidies - $11b ($1 = 6 Egyptian pounds) per year on subsidized fuel alone, and $2.67b on subsidized wheat (totaling 6.5% of its GDP of about $200b). The problem for Mubarak is that he needs to wean the public off these subsidies because of their escalating costs. The demonstrations may have been sparked by a move to cut fuel and food subsidies.According to Beltone, the government spent LE 63 billion on petroleum subsidies during fiscal year 2009/2010, 40 percent of which went to diesel and 22 percent to butane, and this figure is expected to rise to LE 67.7 billion by the end of the current fiscal year. Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-02-03 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=315322 |