Cairo – Mubasher: Despite the fuel price increase launched earlier on Saturday, the Egyptian government continues to subsidise fuel prices by around 20% to 25%, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said.
Speaking to Al Youm7 newspaper, Hamdy AbdelAziz said that the revenues from sales, based on local prices, represent around 75% to 80% of fuel costs.
The ministry is currently undertaking a strategy that aims to bolster local production of oil and natural gas in order to reduce the country's reliance on imports and to trim costs, he added.
Despite the recent price rise, prices have not pared with production costs, AbdelAziz noted.
Egypt's local production of petroleum products represents around 70% of its consumption, while the remaining 30% are imported.
Earlier on Saturday, Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources raised fuel prices, while petroleum minister Tarek El Molla noted that this hike would save the government around EGP 50 billion and may reduce consumption by 5% during the coming fiscal year.
