Hani Mohsen reports on the skyrocketing price of flesh "I have five children. I earn LE500 a month. How am I supposed to buy a kilo of meat when it costs more than LE70 and then pay for electricity, water and private lessons?" Al-Sayed Said, a worker from Menoufiya governorate, is perfectly capable of doing his own mathematics. Few would argue with the point he is making. The figures don't add up. Within the last week, governorates from across Egypt have reported increases in the prices of locally produced meat, which can now cost up to LE100 a kilo. Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza has called the prices being charged "crazy" and has urged consumers to boycott meat until prices return to normal. "I am buying imported frozen meat now. Local meat has disappeared because people are not able to afford it", says Ahmed, a resident of Mohandessin. "Butchers have been badly affected by the increased prices charged by their suppliers," says Ahmed Salama, a butcher from Cairo's Doqqi district. "Customers who once would buy meat daily now make orders every 20 days. Many people have stopped eating meat altogether. I had to shut down twice, in 2007 and 2008, and it looks as if I might have to close yet again." But why is meat becoming so expensive? Many reports claim that cattle traders have doubled prices, forcing butchers to pass the price increase onto consumers. "They are motivated by greed", says Ahmed Salama. "Cattle suppliers operate in cartels. They withhold supplies to push up prices, even when demand is low." Other reports point to reduced quantities of meat imported from Ethiopia and Brazil and to a halt in government funding for cattle growth projects. The picture is further complicated by claims that large quantities of substandard meat have been imported from India. The daily newspaper Al-Wafd has published pictures of meat infected with worms. Alaa Radwan, head of the meat sector at the Egyptian Federation of Industry, admitted that substandard meat had appeared on the market but said it was harmless because the infecting worm dies at minus 20 degrees. Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza, and Mohamed Abu Shady, head of the Internal Trade sector at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, both deny the reports. Mohamed Wahba, head of the meat industry sector at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, blamed the government for failing to stop the price increase. Meanwhile, Radwan says meat imports from India have been halted because Indian trade companies were upset by reports of the infection. "Latin American countries profited by the halt, raising prices to $1000 per ton," he said. While the minister of agriculture has publicly encouraged citizens to boycott meat until prices fall, suggesting they buy poultry and fish instead, the answer may not be so easy. Mohamed Halim, head of the fish sector at Cairo's Chamber of Commerce, expects fish to rise in price as spring begins. And then, of course, there is Sham Al-Nessim, a day on which the entire country feasts on fish.
