Wheat is the most important commodity in Egypt, where about 30 percent of its people currently live below the poverty line.

Consequently, the high price of bread deepens their financial suffering, and this is what was monitored by a recent article.

Writer Claire Willio - correspondent of the French newspaper "La Croix" in Cairo - says that bread delivery workers in the Egyptian capital cross the roads to and fro every day, with full energy and vitality, placing long wooden boards over their heads, on which bread loaves are stacked.

The writer adds that this daily movement allows bread to be delivered from ovens to various points of sale in Cairo, where it is displayed in kiosks, and even on the ground.

The writer points out that the Egyptians are considered one of the largest consumers of bread in the world, as this food item accompanies most of the dishes and foods spread in the country, and it constitutes the daily food share for the poorest segment.

It is noteworthy that Egypt - which produces no more than 40 percent of its wheat needs - is considered the largest importer of this commodity in the world, as it buys 12 million tons annually for 3 billion dollars.

The writer says that Muhammad Ashraf, a 24-year-old young man, had spent 10 years in the bread preparation profession, and he - currently - runs a bakery in the center of the capital, and adopts traditional methods of preparing bread, and produces more than a thousand loaves daily.

This project was considered relatively profitable for Mohammed until last month, when the price of a bag of flour suddenly jumped to 6 thousand pounds (324 euros), from 4 thousand pounds (216 euros).

In an effort to reduce losses, Muhammad Ashraf decided to reduce the size of the loaf, a move that angered customers.

However, he says, "I am still losing half of my income despite this procedure, and if it continues like this, I will be forced to change my profession."

The merchants are in control

In a capital market, Amal wanders between fruit and vegetable stalls, her two-year-old child on her shoulders, murmuring: "Everything has become expensive and messy."

This woman, despite what she earns from her work as a household aid and what her husband (a tuk-tuk driver) earns, is no longer able to meet the expenses.

"It is the merchants who control the prices," she says. "A few weeks ago, I had to make several rounds in the market, in order to find merchandise at the right price, and sometimes I came home empty-handed."

It is noteworthy that Amal benefits from the subsidy system, which allows her to buy basic items, especially bread, at a very low price.

Like this woman, more than 60 million Egyptians benefit from this system to varying degrees.

For the poorest, this social assistance is the only way to survive.

However, in light of the current economic crisis, about 30 percent of the 100 million Egyptians are now living below the poverty line, and many complain of the same hardship.

high production cost

In the Nile Delta, north of Cairo, agricultural fields extend as far as the Mediterranean coast.

The agricultural sector - which is essential in the Egyptian economy - contributes to the subsistence of about 30 percent of the people.

For more than 30 years, the farmer Subhi Al-Sawy has been working in the field of corn and rice cultivation.

It is assumed that this person and his ilk will be the biggest gainers from the rise in international prices of these food products.

But in fact, the cost of production has also witnessed a continuous rise. Sobhi says, "A quarter of the fertilizers I use are subsidized, while I have to pay a lot of money to buy the rest, and the prices are often very high."

Debt is increasing

At Cairo University, Gamal Siam works daily on the fluctuations in grain prices.

This professor of agricultural economics believes that the Egyptian state's subsidy policy has once again allowed to save the poorest, but with an exorbitant bill.

"It is certain that the state was forced to take new loans, this is its competence," he says sarcastically.

According to the university professor, the government is always looking for immediate results, without thinking about the long term.

Certainly, future generations will pay a heavy price for these decisions.