Gaza

- With a mixture of indignation and cynicism, Gazans are reacting to the sharp rise in the prices of most goods and merchandise, since the outbreak of the Russian war on Ukraine, which puts severe pressure on the poor and fragile groups in the Gaza Strip, which is suffering mainly from the scourge of the 15-year siege.

The “ghost of prices” affected the basic materials that constitute the mainstay of the simple family in Gaza, such as flour, rice, sugar and oil, and their prices increased by a rate that the responsible authorities in Gaza say did not exceed 9%, while residents and retailers estimate it as much more.

The poor of Gaza are victims of the Russian war

Muhannad Al-Hayqi and his family had not tasted the taste of chicken for about two weeks, due to his financial inability to buy it after the “insane” high price, according to his description. These are crazy prices.

Al-Hayqi, a paint craftsman who has been unemployed for two months, does not understand how a war he describes as “at the end of the world” can affect the prices of goods and merchandise in Gaza in this way. He believes that “traders have a hand in this by monopoly.” Because of the high prices, should we import it from Russia?”

He added, "Everything in Gaza is fire, the prices are high, and the justifications are not convincing, so what is the relationship of vegetable prices in the market to the Russian war?"

Al-Hayqi supports a family of 6, and tells - to Al-Jazeera Net - that he barely managed his family's affairs before the current price crisis, due to the lack of work in Gaza and his intermittent work for limited days in exchange for a daily wage of 50 shekels (about 15 dollars) that does not meet the basic needs and pay the monthly rent. 600 shekels ($184) for the house they live in in the Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

Muhannad Al-Hayqi said that he is absent from home at all hours of the day so that he does not see the look of regret in the eyes of his children for not being able to meet their simple basic needs.

A few days ago, Al-Hayqi felt a lot of heartbreak when he heard his son talking to his mother, and saying to her, "We haven't eaten chicken for a long time."

The price of a kilogram of chicken in Gaza increased from 12 to 17 shekels (3 to 5 dollars), and with it all kinds of white and red meat, as well as eggs.

"Ramadan is approaching, and for two months I have not been working, and the majority of people in Gaza are like this, so how can we provide for the requirements of this holy month... God is our life in Gaza and death is the same, there is no difference," he said.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) estimates that 80% of the two million people are Gazans, the majority of whom are refugees, who do not enjoy food security and depend for their livelihood on relief aid.

80% of Gazans suffer from food insecurity, and the rise in prices has deepened their dire reality (Al-Jazeera)

The Russian War and Gaza Markets

The Director General of Policies and Planning at the Ministry of Economy in Gaza, Dr. Osama Nofal confirms that prices in Gaza were affected, like other global markets, by the Russian war on Ukraine, given that 70% of goods and merchandise in the local market were imported from abroad, and were affected by the high prices of energy, freight and transportation.

Nofal said - to Al Jazeera Net - that the economic reality in Gaza is basically reluctant and fragile, and the Russian war came to make it worse, and what deepens the crisis is that the strategic stockpile of goods and merchandise is not large, due to the lack of material merchants' ability to store, so the repercussions of the siege afflicted many of them, even forced Some of them are sent to prison for not fulfilling their financial obligations.

The wheat stock that Gaza imports from Russia, due to its low price compared to wheat varieties from other countries, is sufficient for about a month and a half, and it consumes about 400 tons of it daily, while the oils it imports from Ukraine, and most other commodities, are only enough for one month, according to Novell.

During the past two weeks, Gaza markets witnessed a noticeable increase in the prices of most commodities. Nofal details this rise as follows:

  • Flour weighing 50 kilograms increased by 10%.

  • Sugar, weighing 50 kilograms, increased by 10%, and Gaza imports it from Egypt, and its stock is sufficient for only two weeks.

  •  Prices of oils and legumes increased by 7%.

  • The price of white meat has risen dramatically due to the huge increase in feed prices -200 shekels ($60) per ton.

  • The price of table eggs (chicken eggs) increased from 11 to 15 shekels (3 to 4 dollars) per dish (30 eggs).

  • Red meat prices increased by 6%.

Nofal said that the poorest and fragile groups in Gaza suffer from these prices, especially the price of white meat due to their dependence on chicken and eggs in their food mainly, while the high price of fresh red meat, whose percentage of consumers in Gaza does not exceed 20%, explaining that 80% of Residents rely on frozen meat for less than half the price of fresh meat.

Nofal expressed his fear that UNRWA's operations, and other humanitarian and relief institutions, would be affected by the Russian war if it was prolonged, due to the dependence of the majority of Gazans for their livelihood on receiving relief aid, in light of the high rates of poverty and unemployment.

The Russian war puts severe pressure on the vulnerable and poorest groups in Gaza (Al-Jazeera)

The reality is different

And food and catering trader Bilal Nassar confirmed - to Al Jazeera Net - that the competent authorities are making efforts to control prices, but the reality of the market is different from the official price bulletins, and the simple citizen suffers from an "outrageous price tag" that affects everything in the market.

Nassar gave an example of semolina, whose demand and consumption increases during the month of Ramadan, as the price of a 50-kilo shawl rose from 97 shekels to 125 shekels (30 to 38 dollars), while sugar (50 kilograms) rose from 113 to 125 shekels (34). to $38).

Nassar said that the rise in prices in Gaza has become instantaneous, not daily, as at every moment the commodity may witness an increase in its price.