• Nearly one in three Egyptians lives below the poverty line, according to official figures released in July
• The supply ministry spokesman said the measures aimed to make goods available "in suitable quantities and prices"

AFP, Cairo

Egypt is to reduce the prices of subsidised food staples from next month, the supply ministry spokesman said Saturday, as the country's economy shows signs of recovery.

"Prices of cooking oil, sugar, rice and flour will be reduced starting the first of December," said spokesman Ahmed Kamal.

He said the measures aimed to make goods available "in suitable quantities and prices".

Last month, the government reinstated 1.8 million Egyptians to a food subsidy programme as instructed by President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi.

Also in October, fuel prices were cut by 25 piastres (0.015 US cents) a litre following several rounds of price hikes under a tough austerity programme that triggered popular discontent.

The measures came after rare and small-scale protests in September calling for El-Sisi's removal after an exiled Egyptian businessman accused the president and top military brass of corruption.

Harsh austerity measures introduced by El-Sisi's government since he took office in 2014 have hit poor and middle-class Egyptians.

Nearly one in three Egyptians lives below the poverty line, according to official figures released in July.

The tough reforms including subsidy cuts and a devaluation of the local currency were tied to a three-year $12-billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund secured in 2016.

The IMF loan was disbursed in full earlier this year, in a boost for the economy.

Egypt's economy was sent into a downward spiral by the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak and has also been hit by extremist attacks that damaged its vital tourism sector.

But the official statistics agency said inflation fell to its lowest level in nearly a decade last month, easing to 2.4 percent compared with 17.5 percent a year earlier.