“The bread I used to buy for one Egyptian pound now costs three,” said Rehab, 34, at a bakery in Cairo.
“My husband earns 6,000 pounds ($242) a month, which used to last a whole month but is now gone in 10 days.”
In a country heavily dependent on food imports, the prices of staples such as cooking oil and beans have also soared, causing financial distress for many of Egypt’s 104 million people.
Rationing signs in large supermarkets now warn customers that they can only buy three bags of rice, two bottles of milk and one bottle of oil.
Reda, a 55-year-old civil servant and hospital watchman who supports her family of 13, said the price of frozen meat had more than doubled and “there is no choice now”.
“Even with two salaries, there’s a lot I just can’t buy anymore.”