Mohammad Al Momani, Minister of State for Media Affairs, issued a statement on Thursday morning justifying the recent decrease in government subsidies on bread, thereby increasing the price of bread per kilo from 16 piastres to 35 piastres:

“Even bread is being smuggled into nearby countries to take advantage of the new price difference.”

Jordanian social media activists had a field day with his statement, which went viral in no time.

Since Momani did not reveal the countries he was referring to, activists sarcastically speculated about the places the bread is being smuggled to.

"That's too much," one user said about Momani's statement. "Show us some respect." 

This user joked that five people were caught smuggling bread from Amman to Irbid.

Momani's critics pointed out that the borders with Syria are closed, and that Iraq’s border with Jordan was reopened just a short while ago, leaving only Saudi Arabia and Israel among the list of potential candidates.

Jordanians have been struggling financially since the government raised taxes in February.

Sine the increase, 58.8 percent of Jordanians’ standards of living has gone down.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition