Gaza -

Mahmoud al-Masri abandoned an annual habit that he has maintained for many years, ahead of the blessed month of Ramadan, due to the pressure of what he described as the "outrageous rise" in the prices of meat, poultry and all commodities and supplies.

The economic situation of the Egyptian was not sufficient to provide his home with the requirements of the "Ramadan table" during the holy month, during which the family's expenses in Gaza increase.

Al-Masry is not an exceptional case among the two million Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom are unable to cope with the massive wave of high prices that spread following the outbreak of the Russian war on Ukraine.

A noticeable decrease in the Ramadan sweets industry due to the high prices of its components (Al-Jazeera)

War and Ramadan Rituals

At such times annually, and with the advent of the month of Ramadan, the markets in Gaza are crowded with shoppers, to supply goods and food supplies that increase their consumption during the month of fasting, such as meat and poultry, and the requirements for making sweets.

Al-Masry told Al-Jazeera Net that "the current high price is more than people's ability to confront and overcome it, and this appears from the weak demand for goods and materials, the demand for which increases during the days of the holy month."

Al-Masry demonstrates the current bad reality that the Corona pandemic during the past two years - and the emergency measures it caused that affected the labor market - did not prevent him from providing the requirements for the month of Ramadan, as is the case this year.

Al-Masry works in the construction sector, and receives a daily wage of 50 shekels (about 15 dollars), and says that he is afraid of losing his job at any moment, due to the severe impact of the high prices of building materials on building and construction projects.

Al-Masry agreed with his wife on what could be considered an “austerity plan” according to which the “Ramadan table” would not be as it was in previous years, with dishes crowded with different types of food and appetizers, and he said: “We do not know how long this crisis will last, and in Gaza We are used to expecting the worst."

Al-Masry supports a family of 6 people, and says that his family’s expenses in the month of Ramadan rise to about double the expenses in other months of the year, but the current Ramadan will be different;

The crazy rise in prices will force the majority of people to change their habits, or give them up, even temporarily.

80% of Gazans depend for their food on poultry and frozen meat (Al-Jazeera)

Ramadan banquets

And without a previous relationship between them, Abu Nael agrees with Al-Masry, and says - to Al-Jazeera Net - that "the current wave of high prices has crushed life habits, and it will also affect the rituals that people are accustomed to during the month of Ramadan, most notably the diversity in the types of food, drink and Ramadan sweets, as well as spells and banquets." .

Abu Nael, a government employee, and Gaza Strip employees have not received their full monthly salaries for nearly 4 years. He says: "The current wave of high prices has come to make matters worse."

Abu Nael, who preferred to stick to his nickname without giving his full name, has been receiving a monthly salary of about 2,000 shekels (about $617) since the Palestinian Authority imposed punitive measures against Gaza in 2018, and says that his salary barely meets the basic needs of his family of five.

Gaza residents suffer from weak purchasing power and their suffering has increased with the repercussions of the Russian war and the rise in prices (Al-Jazeera)

For years, Abu Nael used to invite his parents, sisters and their families to a meal, consisting of "mansaf with meat", in celebration of the month of Ramadan. However, this year he had to replace veal with the less expensive turkey, and said: My first choice was to buy chicken instead of meat, and I found its price high, so I resorted to turkey."

Abu Nael and Al-Masry also agree that the invitations to break the fast, which are exchanged by friends and relatives, and mark the month of Ramadan, will decline remarkably, if the wave of prices continues to rise at this unusual rate.

The wave of high prices forced the Gazans to ration their needs and expenses (Al-Jazeera)

Ramadan Economy

Bilal Nassar, the owner of a store that sells household supplies and food supplies, complains of a sharp decline in people's demand for shopping - as usual - in preparation for the month of Ramadan.

He described the prices as "repulsive", and told Al Jazeera Net that he noticed a reluctance from customers to buy, and to be satisfied with basic needs, while others reduced the quantities of goods and materials from those they used to buy.

He added that the rise in prices affected everything, but the greatest impact on people was the rise in the prices of basic materials, especially at this time, in which we live in the first days of the month of Ramadan, in which the demand for meat, poultry, rice, canned goods, and ingredients that enter into the diet increases. making candies.

The editor of the economic page in the local newspaper "Al-Ayyam" Hamid Gad - for Al-Jazeera Net - explains this high, with the Gaza Strip relying about 70% of its needs on goods and merchandise imported from abroad, most notably flour and oils sourced from Russia and Ukraine.

The economic journalist said that the majority of families in Gaza suffer from poor purchasing power in the first place, and the Russian war on Ukraine has worsened the living situation.

This "outrageous price tag" - in a serious opinion - has heavy and negative effects on the lives of Gazans during the month of Ramadan, forcing them to change their lifestyles and rationing their purchases to a minimum, and perhaps even below the minimum, to face the accelerating price hike.

A sharp decline in the demand of the Gazans to supply the needs of the month of Ramadan (Al-Jazeera)

He said that the dangerous repercussions of the current wave of high prices are clearly visible in the decline in the demand for red meat and poultry, and people are turning to other alternatives, the most consumed by the fragile groups is frozen meat and poultry, due to its low price compared to fresh.

According to official data in Gaza, only 20% of the population of the small coastal strip (about two million people) depend for their food on fresh red meat, while 80% depend on poultry and frozen meat.

Gad explained that these percentages were before the outbreak of the Russian war, and they differed now, with many having to either legalize their expenses, or refrain from eating products that they cannot buy.