Four items represent the staples of a basic Egyptian diet. As the threat of an economic crisis persists, Nesma Nowar and Ahmed Kotb ask the government and the private sector about supplies and prices OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS: According to Noamani Nasr Noamani, deputy chief of the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), there is enough in store of edible oil to supply the market for about two months. Monthly oil consumption is 73,000 tonnes. Egypt produces only 15 per cent of its cooking oil needs, but there is a low market demand on the types of locally produced oil which are flaxseed and cottonseed oils. The remaining 85 per cent of the market's edible oil needs are imported. "Cooking oil prices are affected by the dollar value and international oil prices," said Amr Asfour, vice chairman of the Foodstuffs Division of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce. Shipping costs have increased because of rising fuel prices, Asfour explained, and that leads to higher prices of edible oil available in the local market. The prices of corn and sunflower oils rose to LE13.75 and LE12 respectively, up from LE13 and LE11.5. Asfour mentioned another reason for higher oil prices. "Some exporting countries use oil seeds in making biofuel, leading to a shortage in supply," he noted. Egypt's annual consumption of cooking oil is 1.1 million tonnes. ENOUGH IN THE BOWL: The supply of rice has been secured by a tender to supply some 36,000 tonnes. According to Noamani, a latest rice tender of 36,289 tonnes was concluded. Egypt now has a strategic stock of rice to secure the market for another month and half. On his side, Asfour believes there is no reason to worry about stock of rice because there is self-sufficiency caused by banning exports of locally produced rice almost four years ago. However, prices of rice have jumped recently by roughly 11 per cent, with a LE250 increase in the price of a tonne. The price of a tonne of rice now costs approximately LE3,600. A kilogramme is priced at LE4 to LE5 according to the place of selling. "Egyptians have aided the people of Libya with large quantities of rice as a way to help them overcome the critical situation they are experiencing, and some Egyptian retailers took advantage of the resulting slight shortage in supply and raised the prices," Asfour said. The effect of exporting rice to Libya was maximised due to reducing agricultural land dedicated for rice to 1,100,000 feddans, down from two million. SWEET, BUT SOUR: Concern is mounting over a possible shortage in sugar supply which could cause a rise in prices over the coming period. One kilogramme of sugar is now sold at LE4.5 in the government outlets while in super markets it is sold a LE5. According to Noamani, 65 million Egyptians are benefiting from the ration card system in which 106,000 tonnes of sugar are being consumed. He stated that the sugar will cover the local demand for three months adding that the strategic reserve of sugar is 179,000 tonnes which cannot be used except in extreme emergencies. Meanwhile, Hassan El-Fandi, a board member of the food industries chamber at the Federation of Egyptian industries, said that conditions of sugar are stable, and prices did not rise any further since the end of the last year. Sugar prices have increased dramatically at the end of the previous year on the back of a hike in global sugar prices accompanied with a shortage in the local market. El-Fandi stated that the price of one tonne of sugar remained unchanged at LE4,500 inside the factory. He explained that this stability in prices is due to the interference of the Food Industries Holding Company to stabilise the market and that it undertook the stability of the sugar market till the end of 2011. He also added that there are enough quantities of sugar in the market, and that currently Egypt is in its production stage of sugar. "I don't think there would be any sugar crises over the coming period," El-Fandi told Al-Ahram Weekly. He further stated that Egypt produces 1.7 million tonnes of sugar, while another 800,000 tonnes are imported to cover local consumption. Ahmed Yehia, head of the food division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, stated that production of sugar is continual and that local factories produce 8000 tonnes of sugar daily. In addition to that, sugar companies have agreed upon importing 1.2 million tonnes of sugar which are supposed to enter the Egyptian market during 2011. Yehia believes that the sugar market is covered and stable concerning quantities and prices. KNOWING THE BEANS: The rising prices of local beans (foul) reaching LE8.5 per kilogramme raised a great deal of concern as bean is the staple food of most low-income households. According to El-Basha Idris, head of Agricultural Crops Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, prices of beans have increased over the past years. He stated that this is due to Egypt's low production of beans which in turn results in a shortage of supply in the local market. Idris pointed out that every year the production of beans further declines due to the fact that studies concerning the planting of agricultural crops are neglected. "The neglect of agricultural studies as well as planting bad quality seeds contributed in reducing the supply of beans." Idris said. He added that Egypt produces only 20 per cent of the local consumption of beans which amounts of 850,000 tonnes and it imports 80 per cent to meet local demand. He also believes that Egypt could be subjected to great external pressures if it has to import large quantities in order to cover the gap between local production and consumption. Idris stated that the government should earmark an open budget for agricultural studies which should work on searching for new strains of beans that would increase land productivity. He also stressed on the importance of encouraging the farmers to plant beans. For his part, Yehia said that prices of local beans have increased from 60-70 per cent this year in comparison with last year, reaching LE8.5 per kilogramme compared to LE4.5 in the previous year. However, he stated that prices of imported beans did not change hitting LE4.5 per kilogramme. Yehia agreed that this price hike is due to low production levels. Yehia said that to avoid shortages of staple commodities, Egypt should rely on local production. "We should start planning to increase our local production of basic commodities," he said, adding that the government should always be ready to play a role in stabilising the market.
