Traders are expecting a marked increase in local retail prices for butter, cheese and powdered milk as a result of rising international commodity prices. Local prices for fresh and frozen meat have already risen by 15 percent. According to a recent report issued by the Egyptian Chamber of Food Industries, local market prices for butter imported from Australia and New Zealand went up by 13 percent last month, while prices for cheddar cheese rose by 15 percent. Alexandria Chamber board member Ahmed Saqr said the price hikes were the most dramatic to be seen since the onset of the current global financial crisis late last year. "Meat prices recently rose 100 percent after Pakistan and India were hit with a cow disease," he said. "Cheddar cheese prices, meanwhile, have doubled within the last five months," added Saqr, noting that Egypt produced 130,000 tons of cheddar a year, of which 90 percent is exported abroad. Cattle trader Hassan el-Saadani said that a kilogram of live cow meat had recently risen from LE17 to LE20, pointing out that cattle farmers were loath to sell at the moment in hopes of obtaining higher sell prices in future. According to butcher Mohktar Nagid, retail prices for one kilogram of meat had recently jumped from LE42 to LE45 on the local market. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
