This winter saw a surge in the sale of heaters as Egyptians rushed to buy heating devices to face the unprecedented cold weather that has been hitting the country. Though the weather is getting warmer now, temperatures in December dropped to as low as three degrees Celsius at night, with some Cairo suburbs seeing snowfall for the first time in years, Mai Samih reports. “During very cold days, we used to sell around 20 heaters per day,” said Ismail Abul-Dahab, the owner of a shop that sells home appliances in downtown Cairo. He said that Egyptians preferred to buy Chinese-made heaters due to their affordable prices that range from LE70 to LE130. “People were buying Chinese heaters regardless of the brand, but the most frequently bought ones were the small heaters for LE70,” he added. The winter took everyone by surprise, and few were prepared for the bitterly cold season that struck this year. “We were forced to buy heaters this year as the weather was exceptionally cold and no one could live without them, especially after sunset,” said Nadia Mohammed, a Cairo resident. “Traditional blankets do not have the effect they used to have in the current weather conditions,” she added. Dina Ali, a schoolteacher, bought a heater for the first time this winter, unusual in her hometown of Al-Arish. “People tend to buy Egyptian and Chinese-made heaters as they are sold at the same prices and are the most affordable for the majority of the population,” said one shopkeeper in Abdel-Aziz Street, a centre for electrical goods in Cairo. A three-fin heater costs about LE165, while a four-fin one costs about LE180. “People come to buy one heater or two depending on their budgets,” the shopkeeper said. According to a report by the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, the prices of electric heaters have increased by five per cent as a result of the extremely cold winter weather. According to one Website, prices range from LE75 for 800-watt heaters to LE495 for 1,800 watt ones. The most expensive are electric oil-filled radiators, with prices ranging from LE645 to LE813. “We don't sell many of those,” Abul-Dahab commented.
