CAIRO: Seventy-five percent of Egyptian families are ready to boycott red meat as a reaction to inflated prices, while 19 percent are unwilling to do so, a recent study by Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) revealed. Those who supported a boycott, however, predicated their participation on three things: the participation of all citizens, that the boycott would be for a limited time period and that alternatives to red meat are provided. Eighty percent of respondents in urban areas agreed to participate in a boycott, while the figure is down to 70 percent of respondents from rural areas. The IDSC study aimed at examining the level of red meat consumption by Egyptian families and their willingness to boycott commodities in case of a hike in prices. The study comes on the heels of a crisis that began in February when locally produced meat across Egypt almost doubled in price and local officials struggled to justify the sudden hike. Some blamed private butchers while others claimed the rise originated from cattle traders. On Monday April 26, a boycott of red meat was administered by the Egyptian Chamber of Tourist Establishments (ECTE) in which over 1,200 food outlets, restaurants and hotels boycotted red meat in protest, according to Wagdy El-Kirdany, chairman of the ECTE. Ninety-two percent of the representative sample studied are consumers of red meat. However, their consumption levels within the group varied. Eleven percent said they consume less than two kilograms of red meat a month. The majority, 32 percent, consume two to four kilograms per month, while 30 percent consume between four and six kilograms per month. Only four percent consume more than 12 kilograms monthly. In urban areas, 94 percent are red meat consumers, while in the rural areas it is 90 percent. Since the hike in local red meat prices last February, 52 percent have decreased their consumption, 41 percent kept it the same and only four percent have increased it. Sixty-three percent of the sample consumes local red meat while two percent consume the imported variety. Forty-five percent of respondents believe that a general boycott will definitely reduce the prices while 35 percent were skeptical about how effective a boycott would be, with 12 percent believing that it will have no impact.
