If you’ve been watching prices inch up ahead of Ramadan and wondering how the government plans to respond, here is the answer: The Madbouly government has officially put a EGP 40.3 bn price tag on a “welcome Ramadan” social support package. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and FinMin Ahmed Kouchouk unveiled the measures at a press conference yesterday (watch, runtime: 41:27), outlining what they described as a two-phased plan to ease pressure on households before and after the holy month.

What’s in the bag: The first phase is designed to get support to families quickly, ahead of Ramadan and through Eid, when spending typically rises. The second phase will kick in with the new FY on 1 July, bringing broader changes to wages and taxes that the government says are meant to address longer-term cost-of-living pressures.

The Ramadan and Eid package

The immediate Ramadan and Eid support package will roll out this week, with the goal of getting help to households before the holy month begins, and includes:

  • Ration card holders: EGP 8 bn has been set aside to provide a one-time EGP 400 top-up to 10 mn families, paid out over March and April;
  • Takaful and Karama families: EGP 4 bn will fund a one-time EGP 400 bonus for the 5.2 mn beneficiary families;
  • Additional beneficiaries: EGP 300 in direct support will go to 30k child pension recipients, while another 15k working women in rural communities will receive EGP 300 to help with seasonal costs;
  • Public healthcare: EGP 3 bn will be used to clear surgical waiting lists, and another EGP 3 bn will expand state-funded treatment for uninsured citizens through June;
  • Universal health ins.: Around EGP 3.3 bn will bring Minya into the universal health ins. system in April;
  • Hayah Karima: EGP 15 bn will support completion of the initiative’s first phase by the end of the FY. From that amount, EGP 4 bn will cover the higher local wheat procurement price, now set at EGP 2.35k per ardeb for the 2026 harvest season.

Beyond Ramadan into the coming budget

Madbouly signaled that a broader recalibration is coming with the next budget. He promised a “satisfactory” increase in the national minimum wage starting in July, saying it would reflect current inflationary changes. The private sector will be expected to apply the new wage floor once it is announced.

Teachers and doctors will get better pay, as the two groups have faced mounting pressure in recent years, the government pledged.

On the tax front, the upcoming budget is expected to adjust the income tax exemption threshold to better reflect inflation, which could rise between 80k-100k, a senior government source told us yesterday.

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