Eid Al-Adha: Egyptians Torn Between Joy and Concern
Updated 6/27/2023 8:00:00 AMMuslims in Egypt are preparing for the annual Eid Al-Adha Festival; however, this year, inflation in the meat and live animal markets may hamper people’s contributions. Yet, people are willing to sacrifice on Eid to share with the less fortunate. Accordingly, the Egyptian government is working on securing the needs of citizens.
High Inflation and Sudan Conflict
In 2022, Egypt imported live animals (excluding horses, donkeys, mules, hinnies, bovines, pigs, sheep, and goats) worth $117.5 million from Sudan, accounting for around 93.9% of the $125.24 million imported from the whole world, according to Trade Map.
Local production of red meat, which used to cover about 60% of the country’s needs, has recently declined to 40%, Vice President of the Butchers Division Haitham Abdel-Basset stated in a phone-in with Sada El-Balad TV channel on May 14th.
Egyptians consume around 1.3 million tons of red meat a year, while the number of livestock heads reached 7.5 million at the end of 2022, according to data from the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture.
Therefore, the Egyptian local meat market has been hit by the conflict in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023, and the prices have been affected.
Heba Salah, Economic Expert and Public Policy Analyst at the Egyptian Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), tells Arab Finance: “Egypt’s inflation rate is expected to rise in June, mostly due to livestock price hikes and inflated prices of imported fodders. This will contribute to surging meat prices in the country ahead of Eid Al-Adha as Egypt’s livestock breeders mainly depend on imported high-cost cultivated or manufactured feed. This will result in affecting the demand for and the cost of sacrificial cattle ahead of Eid Al-Adha as well as raising the inflation rate in Egypt.”
On June 15th, kandouz meat prices recorded EGP 300-330 per kilogram (kg), while the price of lamb ranged between EGP 230 and EGP 350 per kg and the price of camel meat hit EGP 200 and EGP 250 per kg, according to Al Ahram Newspaper.
Salah Says: “According to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), prices of red meat have witnessed an increase of 14.8%, contributing 0.80% to monthly headline inflation in May 2023. In addition, the prices of meat and other fresh meats increased by 9.7% and 8.2%, respectively. This increase came in line with the observance of Eid al-Adha; however, it was robust compared to its usual seasonal magnitude due to the above-mentioned inflationary pressures.”
"The Sudanese Crisis has made it crucial to explore alternative markets for importing meat, such as Chad and Djibouti, with the aim of diversifying the sources of imports and mitigating the impacts of external shocks on the local meat market in Egypt,” Salah explains.
“The Egyptian government is proactively and consistently working on increasing the domestic production of fodder and livestock in order to close the gap between production and demand," she adds.
Earlier in June, the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade confirmed that 5,000 cattle were received from Djibouti as a down payment out of the total agreed-upon amount of 12,000 cattle.
This comes as Egypt has inked deals with India, Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti, and Tanzania to import fresh and frozen meat to expand its supply sources.
Moreover, Salah notes that "Egypt’s meat prices are likely to continue to surge after Eid Al- Adha amid the Sudanese crisis. The conflict in Sudan has caused a supply shortage in Egypt, which is a major importer of Sudanese meat, both fresh and frozen."
To Sacrifice or not to Sacrifice
While the increasing meat prices could discourage people from sacrificing on Eid Al-Adha, many Egyptians believe that it is needed more in times of crisis. Ahmed, a 32-year-old citizen, tells Arab Finance: “Actually, I am planning to sacrifice this year because it is for Allah. However, the prices increased by around 250%. So, I had to sell some gold to do that.”
“Although the prices are very high this year, reaching around EGP 150 for a kilogram of live calf/cow, I think it became more necessary to share with the poor,” Ahmed continues.
As prices are increasing and some people will not be able to sacrifice on Eid Al-Adha this year, many of them are willing to share resources. Out of empathy amid soaring prices, a group of friends-housewives decided to take the initiative to collect an amount of money, each paying whatever she could, and use the money to buy at least one kilogram of meat to donate it to the less fortunate during Eid.
Eman, a housewife from this group, tells Arab Finance: “Thank God, many people strongly welcomed the idea suggested on the WhatsApp mothers’ group, and I wrote a post on Facebook and found out more people supporting the idea. People wanted to give away charity money, but they did not know to whom, and they welcomed the idea of helping some poorer families with meat to celebrate Eid Al-Adha.”
Eid Al-Adha approaches with anticipation and concerns. Despite the current inflation and the expectation of higher inflation rates, people are excited about Eid. Accordingly, many people are planning to celebrate on their way and share happiness with others.
By Sarah Samir
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