Losses that harm everyone. What solutions to Egypt's meat crisis?

CAIRO—Egyptian citizen Sayed Abdel Raouf earns 3500,30 pounds (a dollar equals about 10 pounds), which is also equivalent to 350 kilograms of meat, as the price per kilo in his downtown Cairo neighborhood of Sayeda Zeinab is <> pounds.

In unpopular neighborhoods, especially in supermarkets, a kilogram of meat reaches 450 pounds, while the price at the outlets of the Ministry of Supply drops to about 225 pounds because they sell imported meat and are not the municipal type that Egyptians usually prefer.

The sharp rise in red meat prices has led to a decline in Egyptian consumption of red meat, the exit of 30% of butchers from the production system, and the reluctance of 70% of breeders to raise livestock, according to Haitham Abdel Basit, deputy head of the butchers division at the chambers of commerce.

Recently, the prices of red meat have more than doubled, from a few months ago to only 150 pounds per kilogram, which was one of the repercussions of the large and successive decline of the local currency against the dollar.

The average per capita meat reached 7.3 kilograms in 2020, and the self-sufficiency rate of red meat reached 53.8%, according to data from the Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics.

The significant rise in the prices of chicken and meat is paralleled by a double increase in the prices of fish and eggs (Al Jazeera)

Buyer and seller suffering

The rise in the price of red meat was preceded by a significant rise in poultry prices, as the price of a kilogram exceeded 100 pounds and recently fell to 85 pounds, while the price per kilogram in May last year was about 40 pounds.

The significant rise in the prices of chicken and meat is paralleled by a double increase in the prices of fish and eggs, which represents pressure on Egyptian citizens, especially those with low incomes.

In front of that, the citizen Sayed Abdel Raouf became in front of the crisis of providing protein for his family of 4 members, and says to Al Jazeera Net, "My salary in addition to the salary of my wife is almost enough for our needs for the end of the month in light of the old prices, but now we are living a big crisis."

Abdul Raouf did not buy red meat since last Ramadan, but the purchase of eggs for him has become minimalistic "I buy 5 eggs for 25 pounds, I lived when the gram of gold was 28 pounds," and decided with his wife to buy a kilogram of municipal meat and a kilogram of imported meat only every month after they were buying twice this amount during the same period.

Abdul Raouf seems to be suffering, but he is considered a luxury for um Mohammed, a vegetable seller in a popular market, as she has completely abandoned buying meat since the beginning of the year, saying, "In Ramadan, the doors of goodness helped me and I got a kilogram of meat. I am waiting for Eid al-Adha for the meat of the sacrifice."

From the seller's site, butcher Ahmed Shaheen lives a similar crisis, the lack of buyers' demand to buy meat reduced the quantities sold by almost half, and explained, "I buy a kilo of meat from the place of slaughter - slaughtered - for 160 pounds and sell it for 350 pounds, but I do not achieve the expected profit margin because there is a waste in weight after slaughter and because I pay the cost of slaughter, transportation, shop rent and labor salary, as well as water and electricity bills and finally taxes," adding that some of his colleagues did not withstand what the market is witnessing from They were disturbed and had to close their shops.

Regarding the low price of meat at the Ministry of Supply outlets compared to private butcher shops, he said that the supply sells imported and frozen meat that is not fresh, and in many cases meat is not available inside those outlets.

Shaheen does not expect a breakthrough in the crisis in the coming days, "on the contrary. "The Eid al-Adha season will exacerbate the crisis and increase meat prices."

Protein reluctance

There are no recent studies that illustrate the impact of recent price hikes, but last year's studies illustrate the gravity of the mortgage situation where prices were lower at the time.

An International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) study conducted in October and November of more than 6,85 poor and semi-poor households across Egypt showed that 75 percent of households reduced meat consumption and <> percent reduced chicken and egg consumption.

Last November, a study by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics revealed that 65.8% of households were affected by their spending pattern on food and non-food commodities as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

About 90 percent of households have reduced their consumption of protein – meat, birds and fish – than before the start of the war.

Causes of the crisis

Assistant Minister of Supply Ibrahim Ashmawy attributed the rise in meat prices to the lack of fodder that livestock feed on, pointing to the disruption of customs release on imported fodder during the last period.

In March last year, the government obligated importers to open documentary credits as a main measure for importing from abroad, which led to slow import operations, then the country witnessed a crisis in the provision of foreign currency, which led to the accumulation of imported goods in ports, and the release of goods came after the market worsened and prices rose in a way that experts described as crazy.

The price of a ton of yellow corn increased from EGP 6,15 to EGP 8,30, and soybeans from EGP 400,<> to more than EGP <>,<>, an increase of about <>%.

Ashmawy added – in a television interview – that the exit of some livestock breeders from the production system was another reason for the rise in meat prices, but he completely ruled out that the ongoing conflict in Sudan is the cause of the crisis.

Egypt relies on importing large quantities of Sudanese meat, and in 2021, live animals, meat and edible limbs were at the top of exports from Khartoum to Cairo worth $ 217 million, according to the Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics.

The assistant minister of supply said that Sudanese meat passes through safe areas to reach the Egyptian side without any impact on the ongoing clashes there.

He tried to downplay the meat crisis, saying, "We always have a meat deficit. Poultry ranks first in Egyptians' consumption of protein," he said, ignoring the similar rise in poultry prices.

What is the solution?

In an attempt to control the prices of fodder, which is the main reason for the rise in meat prices, the Minister of Supply, Ali al-Moselhy, announced the approval of the supply of 10 kilograms of rose to the farmer at a price of 8 pounds for each wheat supply to the government by the farmer.

He explained during the activities of the wheat harvest season and a number of crops last week, that this move is a contribution from the government to farmers who raise livestock by providing their needs of fodder for raising livestock, which in turn will lead to a decline in meat prices during the coming period, according to his expectation.

The head of the Chamber of Commerce in Ismailia Governorate, Ahmed Othman, also put forward several proposals to solve the crisis, including tightening control over the slaughter of the small herd "veal", increasing supply control over prices, so that a unified price is applied, and paying attention to the cultivation of corn and soy used in the manufacture of feed.

While Haitham Abdel Basit, deputy head of the butchers division of the Chamber of Commerce, conveyed the proposal of butcher shop owners, which is to close shops for a month or two until the market is controlled, pointing to his demand for the Ministry of Supply in a previous meeting to set a simple profit margin for importers.

A study published in the Journal of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, titled "Production and Consumption of Red and White Meat in Egypt", recommended the cultivation of at least 100,60 feddans of feed annually, which will reduce meat prices as the item of feeding costs accounts for <>% of the total production costs.

While civic voices began calling for a boycott of the purchase of red meat in response to what they considered an exaggerated rise in its prices, a week ago, the "Citizens Against High Prices" association launched a campaign entitled "Let it be naked" aimed at boycotting the purchase of meat for one month.