The ministry had issued a decision earlier to reduce bakeries’ quotas for local wheat in Ramadan due to low demand during the holy month.

Minister of Supply Ali El-Moselhi recently postponed the collection of instalments owed by municipal bakeries till the end of Eid El-Fitr in order to support bakery owners and provide subsidised bread to citizens.

In March, Egyptian government set fixed prices for unsubsidised bread at outlets and bakeries across the country for three months, or until further notice, with violators facing heavy fines.

The move was the latest in a series of measures Egypt has adopted to maintain price stability after the cost of unsubsidised bread soared by nearly 50 percent in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Egypt imports from Russia and Ukraine around 80 percent of its wheat, a strategic commodity essential for producing bread, a staple food for Egyptians.

The government has said that Egypt, the world’s top wheat importer, has sufficient local reserves of the grain to last for eight months.