Cairo -

From time to time, observers of the Egyptian media notice that they intensify the presentation of official statistics that talk about consumption indicators, the latest of which was the volume of Egypt's import of meat from India, where the Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics monitored the import of various types of meat by about 702 million dollars, during the period from January 2nd to December of last year.

The Statistics Authority (Government) stated that imports from India during 12 months amounted to about 3 billion dollars, including meat, offal, limbs and structures of chickens worth 702 million dollars, an increase of 30% over 2020, when the value of meat imports at that time amounted to 540 million.

About two weeks ago, the same authority issued a statistics on imports of fresh and frozen beef from abroad, with a value of one billion and 300 million dollars.

The local media has been dealing with such statistics as an indication of the ease of living of citizens, as they are fed by billions of dollars, or that they are part of the economic crisis as they exaggerate spending on food, through headlines such as: Egyptians consume Indian meat with about 700 million dollars, Egyptians consume 44,000 Tons of cashews, and more.

At first glance, it seems that Egyptians actually consume meat for a lot of money, but when comparing the announced figures with the number of the population and the time period for consumption, different facts emerge from what the local media reports about the huge consumption of food by citizens.

For example, according to what was announced by the Statistics Authority, the per capita share of imported meat during one year becomes approximately one kilogram, given the population of 103 million people, and the price of a kilogram of meat, which ranges between 140 and 180 pounds (the dollar = 18.44 pounds). .

Poverty rates in Egypt reached 29.7% in 2019-2020, according to official data.

media propaganda

It is noteworthy that the local media deals with the news of Egyptians' consumption of food with a kind of exaggeration of consumption rates, as if the country is experiencing an economic boom.

During the past month, Ibrahim El-Ashmawy, Assistant Minister of Supply and Head of the Interventional Trade Development Authority, said that the average monthly consumption of food by Egyptians is 50 billion pounds, and added - in televised statements - that the average consumption rises in the month of Ramadan to 75 or 80 billion pounds.

Before that, many local media reported the Egyptians' consumption of tea at a value of 3 billion pounds during the period from January to October of last year.

Under the headline "The Egyptians ate 44,000 tons of cashews in 9 months", the newspaper "Al-Youm Al-Sabaa" dealt with the volume of quantities that Egypt imported from cashews during the period from January to September of last year.

Economic defect

For his part, the economic expert, Abdel Nabi Abdel Muttalib, said - in statements to Al Jazeera Net - that the official statistics on the Egyptians' consumption of food indicate an imbalance in the country's macroeconomic system.

He added that what we, as economists, conclude from the announced figures is that the government directs the bulk of the state’s resources to consumer spending, instead of increasing production or expanding the establishment of industrial and agricultural projects that help increase the rate of self-sufficiency and contribute to reducing dependence on the outside to provide food.

Abdel Muttalib pointed out that the announcement of the value of consumption greatly affected the Egyptians at an earlier time, and added that the consumption figures gave an indication to the Egyptians that they are part of the reasons for their suffering, and the suffering of the Egyptian economy as a whole.

But the situation has changed now - according to the economist - considering that people are currently dealing with such news with a kind of accurate scientific analysis by dividing the mentioned amounts by the population.

He concluded, "In light of the spread of social media platforms and the abundance of data, such news and data have become useless, and may even achieve goals opposite to the goals that were published in order to achieve them."

The citizen pays

In turn, the head of the Egyptian Center for Media Studies and Public Opinion, Mostafa Khodari, considered that promoting the rates of Egyptian food consumption is an attempt to throw economic failure on the shoulders of society, "as if the regime pays these sums of money from its own pocket and not from the pockets of citizens."

Khudari explained - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that Egypt is at the bottom of the list of countries in terms of the per capita share of animal protein, as the citizen actually lives in protein poverty, contrary to what is being promoted by the regime's media.

A report by the Ministry of Agriculture, issued in 2017, revealed that the per capita share of red meat decreased to 7 kilograms during the year, which means an average of 18 grams per day, which is less than the global average per capita of 24 grams per day.

As for the impact of this on citizens, the expert in public opinion research confirmed that these media methods are outdated, and are no longer appropriate in the age of digitization and open skies.

"The horrific technological renaissance that occurred in the last ten years has created generations of young people with awareness and knowledge, which makes them look at the regime's media with contempt," he added.

The head of the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Studies stressed that Egyptians buy their food needs according to their circumstances and capabilities, and do not pay attention to what is said in the regime's media.

food waste

On the other hand, parliamentarians see Egyptians' consumption of food as excessive to the point of waste, calling for the need to rationalize food within the framework of enacting legislation and launching community initiatives.

The Secretary of the Foreign Relations Committee in the House of Representatives, Amira Saber, submitted a draft law to regulate the fight against food waste and encourage its redistribution, recycling and donation. The draft sets penalties for those who violate the provisions of the law, up to a fine of half a million pounds.

In this regard, Majdi Malak, a member of the Parliament’s Agriculture and Food Security Committee, suggested launching a symbiotic initiative by the Ministry of Social Solidarity in cooperation with civil society institutions, aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of not rationalizing consumption of foods, and distributing the good from the surplus food of hotels and restaurants to the first families in solidarity. .

Malak said - in press statements - that the country is in dire need of spreading a culture of rational consumption of food, in light of the spread of food-wasting behaviors recently, he said.

The MP pointed out that the call to rationalize consumption revolves around supporting the family's economy by saving it for expenses, and then it is directed to the most necessary requirements.

Two weeks ago, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called on Egyptians to avoid extravagance, saying, "If you want a better future and life for our future sons, daughters and grandchildren, you must adhere to rationalization and avoid extravagance."

He also said, "Some are extravagant in food during the month of Ramadan, but there must be rationalization," stressing that he is doing this with his family and asking them to rationalize and choose the least expensive products.