- Yolanda Tap
- BBC
Food prices in Egypt have tripled in recent months
A man sitting next to a poultry seller in the Giza market says, “Oh God, don’t make us reach a point where we are forced to eat chicken legs.”
This coincides with a deep economic crisis facing Egypt, which imposed an acute situation on Egyptian families who struggle to secure their food.
The Egyptian government suggested cooking chicken legs, which it said is a protein-rich part of the chicken, and is usually fed to dogs and cats.
This proposal from the government sparked outrage and intense criticism.
Many countries suffer from rising inflation rates, at a time when the inflation rate exceeded 30% in March, and Egypt is one of the countries that suffer the most in this regard.
For many, once-basic staples like cooking oil and cheese have become unaffordable luxuries. The price of some products has doubled and tripled in a matter of months.
“I eat meat once a month, sometimes I don’t buy it at all. I buy chicken once a week,” said Wadad, a mother of three in her fifties, who makes her way through the stalls. “Now, the price of an egg is about 5 pounds.” [0.16 دولار أمريكي، 0.13 جنيه إسترليني].
Egypt relies heavily on imported food rather than local agriculture to feed its population of more than 100 million, which is part of the cause of the country’s suffering.
Even the grain that is fed to the chickens is imported from abroad.
Over the course of 12 months over the past year, the Egyptian pound has lost half of its value against the US dollar. So the Egyptian government devalued the currency again in January, which led to a sharp rise in the price of imported items such as grain.
With many families unable to afford products such as beef, the government advised citizens to use chicken feet
A year ago, Wadad was living comfortably on her monthly pension of EGP 5,000. She classified herself as middle class. Now, like many other Egyptians, she is struggling to make ends meet.
Today, Wedad has made enough money to buy some chicken.
While shopping, Wadad says, “A seller told me that the price of a kilo of chicken strips reached 160 pounds, and other sellers say it is 175, 190, or even 200 pounds.”
“Chicken legs now cost 90 pounds – and even chicken bones are being sold now – and the cost of one foot is 20 pounds,” she added, laughing sarcastically.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi often blames the turmoil that followed the 2011 Egyptian uprising and rapid population growth for his country’s current economic problems, as well as the coronavirus pandemic and then the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year dealt a heavy blow to the global economy. Egypt is the second largest importer of wheat in the world, a material that Russia and Ukraine are its main exporters, and exports from them were disrupted due to the war, and in return the prices of wheat – and therefore bread – skyrocketed.
Russian and Ukrainian tourists used to visit Egypt in large numbers, as the Egyptian tourism sector lost its momentum after the war as well.
Tourism in Egypt used to cover about 5% of the gross domestic product, before it was severely affected since the spread of the Corona epidemic.
Egypt was a major importer of wheat from Ukraine and Russia before the Russian invasion disrupted shipments
Some analysts point out that government missteps have made the situation in Egypt much worse, as the presidency, army, security and intelligence have increased influence under President Sisi, he told Timothy Caldas, a political economist at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.
Caldas says this expansion of influence occurred as a result of the expansion of regime-owned enterprises, as for the military for example, as well as government contracts for massive infrastructure projects.
As a result, private sector participation has diminished dramatically – with non-regime firms unable to compete. While many foreign investors left Egypt.
Egypt has benefited from bailouts from the International Monetary Fund four times over the past six years. And half of the Egyptian state’s revenues became to pay off those debts from the World Bank, which in their entirety amounted to 90% of the Egyptian GDP.
Discontent is growing with the government being accused of mismanaging the economic crisis
And Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia bought assets owned by the Egyptian state, with the aim of helping support Egypt, but the Egyptian government, in return, tightened its conditions for more investments.
The Gulf states fear the repercussions of the crisis that may occur if the largest country in terms of population in the Middle East fails.
The economic hardships that the country previously experienced led to riots and contributed to the fall of former presidents Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi. There are already signs that growing public anger over Egypt’s economy will lead to unrest again.
“I cannot tell you how sorry we women are for the black day we went to vote for you,” an Egyptian housewife told President Sisi in a video circulated on social media that went viral. “You made our lives hell.”
She counts a few pounds in her bag, and asks how she can feed her children with that.
With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, many are worried about the availability of traditional banquets
Meanwhile, Wadad is back in her apartment, chopping green beans and slicing tomatoes to make food for her grandchildren.
You think of the holy month of Ramadan, during which fasting extends for long hours and ends with a lavish table.
“What am I going to do this year?” Wadad asks, shaking her head, imagining that even chicken will disappear from the menu.
“I can hardly buy lentil soup,” Wedad finishes.
