A recent survey conducted by Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center revealed that red meat consumption in Egypt had fallen by 21 percent between February and April of this year. The survey polled 1126 respondents in different cities throughout the country, of whom 11 percent said they bought less than two kilos of meat per month; 32 percent between two and four kilos; and 30 percent between four and six kilos. Meanwhile, 68 percent of those polled attributed falling consumption rates to high prices, while 17 percent attributed it to the poor quality of meat available on the local market. The remainder said they were unable to afford meat at all, even at reduced prices. The survey also showed that residents of Upper Egypt constituted 79 percent of meat purchasers during the period. Of those asked, 63 percent usually purchase locally-produced meat; 2 percent buy imported frozen meat; and 5 percent buy a combination of the two. As to whether or not an ongoing popular boycott of meat would succeed in bringing down prices, 45 percent thought it would, while 14 percent thought it would not. A full three quarters of respondents, meanwhile, said they were willing to boycott red meat. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
