Officials on Wednesday said that the government’s ration system would give “vulnerable groups” preferential access to subsidised food including bread, cooking oil, sugar and rice, state media reported. Such groups include seasonal workers, street vendors, the jobless, divorcees and orphaned children. People with special needs and chronic ailments are also covered by this “exceptional” decision, as well as employees at state or private sector with a monthly salary of up to EGP1,500. Up to four members of each eligible family will benefit from the new system, the Supply Ministry said. The decision would not exclude current beneficiaries of the ration system, the ministry insisted, without clarifying how many people would benefit from the new arrangement or how did the special categories would impact other ration card holders. Eligibility criteria have not been discussed between the parliament and the government, according to MP Mohammad Abu Hamed. “This sum [EGP1,500] is nothing in our time. It marks the poverty limit. Therefore, considering income as the sole yardstick to specify who deserves subsidy is rejected. Other criteria such as the number of family members should also be taken into account,” Hamed added. Meanwhile, around 71 million Egyptians of the country’s 95 million people already benefit from the food subsidy system, for which a total of EGP86bn has been allocated for FY17/18 budget. In June, President Sisi doubled the value of subsidized food that ration card holders can buy every month. Last month, a deadline, set by the government, expired for ration card holders to update their data in an attempt to trim subsidy bill, and the government has repeatedly urged those who do not desperately need the subsidised food to voluntarily give up their ration cards in order to avoid unspecified fines.