Despite the Egyptian cabinet’s promises to resolve the crisis of fuel shortage within days, the problem is further developing due to its negative repercussions on citizens.
Traders say the number of firms supplying fuel to the Arab world’s most populous country has shrunk and repeated shortages have angered motorists and disrupted industry and agriculture.
Trucks wait for days for only few liters of diesel but with no luck.
As the crisis continues, some citizens threatened that resorting to robbery may be the alternative to remain loyal to their daily commitments.
“During Hosni Mubarak’s days… [the crisis] used to take 10 or 15 days maximum…but now we’ve been suffering for months,” said one driver told Al Arabiya’s reporter.
Although the government said the crisis is a result of smuggling and theft, the Petroleum Products Division in the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce said it is due to bad distributions among provinces. The chamber requested the presidency to intervene.