With Ramadan round the corner, consumers complain while the government tries to provide essential foodstuffs at reasonable prices Starting early September, Muslims are going to be celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, a time of the year during which household costs usually rise. Egyptian families usually prepare for Ramadan, buying dried fruits known as yameesh, while paying out large sums of money to buy extra foodstuffs in order to invite relatives and neighbours for Iftar, the essential meal for fasting Muslims, reports Mona El-Fiqi. This year, Ramadan coincides with the start of the new school year, which also costs families significant sums of money yearly, as they struggle to pay school fees and purchase new uniforms and stationery. Moreover, Muslims need to prepare for the end of Ramadan, which is celebrated with a feast that comes with expenses of its own, as parents buy new clothes for their children and buy or bake kahk (a pastry the ingredients of which are flour, butter and sugar). Fearing these costs, consumers are complaining that the coming month will require an extra budget to cover their needs. Housewife and mother of two Maha El-Sayed told Al-Ahram Weekly that due to the heavy financial burden her family has to bear this month, she will give priority to school fees and her children needs. She added that she might refrain from buying Ramadan's yameesh and save money for essential foodstuffs, "which have rapidly become much more expensive over recent months." And while families are re-allocating their budgets in light of the price increase, outlets selling yameesh are suffering the consequences. In an attempt to provide essential foodstuffs for consumers and to control the market, numerous governmental authorities are making more of an effort. In the framework of a ministerial plan to control the local markets, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid commissioned the Internal Trade Department at the ministry to cooperate with other control authorities at the Ministry of Interior, to take suitable measures to protect consumers from any illegal commercial acts and from products which do not meet quality specifications. The plan includes accelerating control campaigns on the local market, namely on factories, stores, outlets, clothes, stationery and pastry shops. Internal Trade Department chief Hamza El-Bari has announced that an emergency department is now working 24 hours a day, and is ready to receive and immediately solve consumer complaints, by taking suitable legal measures to protect shoppers against anyone violating regulations. El-Bari added that a hotline has been set up and is now open to receive complains. The hotline number is 02 2794 7683. Members of these control campaigns, which will continue to function through to the end of Ramadan, will take random samples of products available on the market during their permanent visits to stores and factories, which they will send off to official laboratories for testing. All this is done to ensure that products are manufactured according to quality regulation. Moreover, the Sixth of October governorate authorities announced that, in cooperation with the Ministry of Solidarity, large amounts of flour used to produce subsidised baladi bread are available to support 530 bakeries in the city. In addition to providing flour for consumers at low prices -- between LE3.25 and LE4 per kilo -- sugar will also be made available at governmental cooperatives at LE2.75 per kilo. This will help families save, as sugar costs LE3 in supermarkets. The Ministry of Solidarity, for its part, announced that it is providing large amounts of cooking oil at cooperatives in addition to rice to be sold at LE3.25 per kilo. This will also ease the burden on families, as rice is being sold at LE3.75 per kilo in supermarkets. High quality meat is also available at government-run cooperatives at LE30 per kilo. Two weeks ago, Rachid visited Brazil to finalise a deal to import meat to help cover for the rising demand for meat, owing to the start of Ramadan, at a reasonable price. In addition, working hours for bakeries are scheduled to be changed to guarantee the provision of bread for consumers at Iftar and Sohour times.
